California shatters COVID-19 record with 379 deaths in 24 hours

Wednesday's number of deaths is equivalent to a life lost every four minutes in a 24-hour span.
Thursday, December 17, 2020
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A total of 379 Californians died of COVID-19 on Wednesday, marking the highest number of fatalities in one day since the pandemic began and surpassing the previous record set on Tuesday.

Wednesday's number of deaths is equivalent to a life lost every four minutes in a 24-hour span.

The state reported another 52,281 new cases of the virus yesterday, just 1,400 cases less than what California saw the day prior. Officials noted that Thursday's total case count is slightly higher than normal as it includes some cases from the previous day.
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With more than 100,000 new cases in two days in California, the Bay Area will soon be under the state's stay-at-home order as available ICU capacity at hospitals continues to drop.

Four Bay Area counties were not under the regional stay-at-home order implemented earlier this month, but because of the drop in ICU beds, the order now applies to all counties in the region.



In San Mateo, Napa, Solano and Santa Cruz counties, residents can expect to find outdoor dining closed beginning tonight at 11:59 p.m., along with personal care services, like nail and hair salons.

These closures were already in effect across other Bay Area counties because of the regional order.

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In Los Angeles County, about two people are dying every hour on average from the virus, something the public health officer is calling an "explosive and very deadly surge."

The Pfizer coronavirus vaccine is being administered to primarily health care workers in the state.



Thursday morning, the first doses were administered in Santa Clara County.

The state is supposed to receive an additional 393,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine next week, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom.

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CALCULATOR: Find out how many people may get a COVID-19 vaccine before you
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