California is expected to cross the 10,000-case threshold Thursday when the first counties update their coronavirus totals.
As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, there were 9,828 confirmed cases in the state and more than 200 dead, according to data compiled by this news organization. That is an increase of more than 1,500 cases from the day before, or about 18%, a sharp rise in what had been a somewhat flattening curve.
Much of that growth came in Southern California, where cases in Los Angeles County have exploded. It has reported more than 1,000 new cases in 48 hours and has more cases — over 3,500 — than any other California county.
Los Angeles has three times the cases of Santa Clara, the county with the second-most positive tests. The case count in Santa Clara approached 1,000 on Wednesday, as health officials reported 66 new cases and the 32nd fatality in the county.
Across the 10 counties that make up the Bay Area — population: 8 million to LA County’s 10.1 million — the number of cases rose on Wednesday to more than 2,500.
Thursday began the third week of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s statewide shelter-in-place order, which came days after the Bay Area became the first place to mandate its residents to stay at home. This week, Bay Area counties extended their local orders through April. Schools have been shut down statewide for two weeks, and on Wednesday, officials said campuses would not open again this school year.
But, with many tests for the virus still pending, it’s difficult to predict when the effects of those measures will be seen in the curve of new cases. Labs in the state conducted their 90,000th test Tuesday, but 59,000 tests were still awaiting results.
