Here's where the COVID-19 crisis is getting worse in the Bay Area, according to new data
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Things have take a turn for the worse in California when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic, and the Bay Area hasn't been immune to the summer COVID-19 surge.
WATCH LIST: 26 California counties where COVID-19 is getting worse
New charts from ABC7 News' data journalism team show which counties are being hit the hardest.
Instead of just looking at raw new case numbers, we're focusing instead on positivity rates in the chart below. Positivity rate is the percentage of people who get tested for COVID-19 that turn back a positive result. Tracking positivity rate helps us understand where there are higher rates of community transmission, not just where more people are getting tested.
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The graph shows the highest positivity rate in Contra Costa County, where the rate has more than doubled in the last three weeks. Santa Clara and San Francisco counties both have a lower positivity rate overall, but both show large jumps.
Another indicator of where the coronavirus crisis is getting worse is hospitalization rates.
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The above graph shows things getting dramatically worse in Marin County. The spike there is largely being driven by a massive outbreak at San Quentin State Prison, where more than 1,300 inmates and 200 staff have tested positive for the virus.
"I don't think there is any room currently but with pending discharges there might be room again," Marin County Health Officer Dr. Matt Willis said of the county's hospital capacity last week.
RELATED: San Quentin inmate shares how massive COVID-19 outbreak started
You can also see hospitalizations rising steeply from mid-June to early July in Solano County, though they've started to taper off a bit over the last few days.
The California Department of Public Health has put 26 California counties on a watch list because of concerning coronavirus trends. In the Bay Area, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa and Solano counties are on the list. Santa Clara was also on the list, but was taken off earlier this week.
See the full list here.
MAP: Here's the reopening status of every Bay Area county
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