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San Diego County coronavirus case rate nears 1% of population, increase of cases slows

Health officials cautioned the test results may not show the full picture and estimated the actual number of cases could be up to 10 times higher.

SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — San Diego’s total case rate neared 1% of the county’s population Wednesday as the increase of cases slowed.

As of Wednesday, 33,393 people in the county have tested positive for the virus, more than double the number of cases in all of South Korea, according to data collected from John Hopkins University.

The highest case rate per population continues to be in the 92173 zip code, which includes San Ysidro, where more than 3.9% of residents have tested positive since the pandemic began. The South Bay has been hit particularly hard by coronavirus. Last week, the county announced a new partnership with South Bay Community Services to help reach out to the Latino community.

Elsewhere in the county, Spring Valley has the highest percentage of confirmed cases with 3.9% of residents testing positive. Followed by National City at 2% and Chula Vista at 5.8%.

Several viewers emailed News 8 to ask why the county remains on the state watch list since only about 1% of people have tested positive.

Early in the pandemic, health officials cautioned the test results may not show the full picture and estimated the actual number of cases could be up to 10 times higher because of limited access to testing.

The CDC and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases estimate each positive case can infect two to three people. By comparison, a person with the H1N1 flu infects, on average, 1.2 to 1.6 people.

Social and physical distancing, the use of face coverings and good hygiene help reduce the potential spread.

Scenario models from COVID Act Now suggest San Diego County could reduce its hospitalization rate to near zero by mid-October with a strict stay at home order. It projects a substantial increase by mid-October if many restrictions are eased. A separate, statewide model from IHME that assumes maintaining current restrictions shows hospitalizations maintaining at their current rates until mid-November when they begin to climb.

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