County COVID-19 Deaths Reach 9; Cases Reach 734
Two additional San Diegans have died from complications of COVID-19, bringing the region’s total to nine, the County Health and Human Services Agency announced today.
“My most sincere condolences go out to the families of people who have lost their lives in this pandemic,” said Wilma Wooten, M.D., M.P.H., County public health officer. “These deaths are a reminder that the virus is still being spread in the community and people need to continue to physically distance themselves from others.”
Cruise Ship Cases
County health officials also confirmed there were COVID-19 cases reported from cruise ships in San Diego:
- Celebrity Eclipse: One passenger, who is in isolation at a local hospital in serious condition, and three crew members have tested positive for the virus. They are not County residents.
- There is no change in the plan of disembarking the remaining passengers who were all scheduled to have departed by midnight. They are screened prior to departure and only those who are asymptomatic and without fever are allowed to leave and proceed to transportation out of the county. This is following current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines on disembarkation from cruise ships.
- Disney Wonder: One passenger – a San Diego County resident – and three crew members, who are not local residents, have tested positive.
Starting April 1, 2020:
- No passenger or employee may disembark a cruise ship in San Diego harbor without approval of the Health Officer, or designee, if any person on the cruise ship has tested positive for COVID-19.
- Any cruise ship that is permitted to dock in San Diego harbor shall notify the Health Officer, or designee, regarding any emergency medical treatment required for a passenger or employee, and shall follow all directives of the Health Officer, or designee.
- Upon approval of the Health Officer, a cruise ship may dock solely for the purpose of receiving fuel and provisions so long as no employee or passenger disembarks.
Ventilators Available at Local Hospitals
County Health officials today announced 19 out of 23 hospitals reported having a total of 481 ventilators to use in people with severe respiratory illness due to COVID-19.
In addition, the County has:
- 75 ready to be deployed
- 69 being serviced
- 600 additional ventilators have been requested from the State
- 125 are being ordered elsewhere
County COVID-19 Cases Reach 734
Through March 31, a total of 734 COVID-19 cases have been reported in San Diego County, including 131 new cases in the last couple of days.
Today’s total includes cases reported over a two-day period, which is why the number is unusually higher. Going forward, the County will be reporting case updates during the daily media briefing and then publishing them on the County’s COVID-19 website later in the afternoon.
Of San Diego County’s cases, 414 (56%) were men and 317 (43%) were women. The gender of three people is unknown. Of the known cases, 136 (19%) have required hospitalization, 56 (8%) had to be placed in intensive care and nine (1%) have died.
County officials also talked about other measures and resources to deal with COVID-19. To date:
- More than 10,350 San Diegans have been tested, including 1,538 tests reported on March 30.
- The County has distributed more than 1.1 million personal protective equipment items to local healthcare providers, including nearly 482,000 N-95 respirators and over 530,000 gloves.
- A total of 2,026 hotel rooms have been secured to isolate people who have potential COVID-19 symptoms and people who are vulnerable and have no place to live.
- Of the 1,585 rooms for County Public Health Services use, 106 are occupied by 116 guests. Those rooms include three homeless individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19.
- Of the 441 rooms assigned to the Regional Task Force on the Homeless, 170 are being occupied by 294 people who are at higher risk of developing complications from COVID-19.
- Nearly 43,000 calls have been received at 2-1-1, including 2,074 that were referred to the County’s nursing line.
- The County’s Epidemiology line has received more than 4,700 calls from local health care providers.
- Region-wide, 277 handwashing stations and 10 portable bathrooms now have been placed.
- County Homeless Outreach Teams have distributed 1,925 hygiene kits among people who are homeless.
The County’s COVID-19 webpage now contains a graph showing new positive cases and total cases reported by date. For more information, visit www.coronavirus-sd.com.