The Los Angeles Post

State Officials Announce Latest COVID-19 Facts

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SACRAMENTO – Today, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released the most recent statistics on COVID-19.

Statewide COVID-19 Data as of Today

  • California has 3,535,534 confirmed cases to date. Numbers may not represent true day-over-day change as reporting of test results can be delayed.
  • There were 3,038 newly recorded confirmed cases Wednesday.
  • The 7-day positivity rate is 2.0%.
  • There have been 51,601,716 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 109,227 during the prior 24-hour reporting period.
  • There have been 55,795 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
  • As of March 18, providers have reported administering a total of 13,382,046 vaccine doses statewide. The CDC reports that 17,213,150 doses have been delivered to entities within the state. Numbers do not represent true day-to-day change as reporting may be delayed. For more vaccination data, visit the COVID-19 Vaccine Data Dashboard.

Tracking Variants

Multiple variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 have been identified globally during the COVID-19 pandemic. These genetic mutations are expected, and some emerge and then disappear, while others persist or become common. Most variants do not have a meaningful impact. Public health becomes concerned about a variant when it affects COVID-19 transmission, severity, testing, treatment or vaccine effectiveness. Get more information on the variants CDPH is currently monitoring.

Blueprint for a Safer Economy

With the Regional Stay at Home Order rescinded statewide as of January 25, all counties are now under the rules and framework of the Blueprint for a Safer Economy and color-coded tiers that indicate which activities and businesses are open based on local case rates and test positivity. CDPH modified Blueprint thresholds on March 12 after the state successfully met its first vaccine equity milestone of 2 million administered vaccine doses in some of the state’s hardest hit communities.

Blueprint Summary (as of March 16)

  • 11 counties in the Purple (widespread) Tier
  • 42 counties in the Red (substantial) Tier
  • 4 counties in Orange (moderate) Tier
  • 1 county in the Yellow (minimal) Tier

Blueprint tiers are updated weekly on Tuesdays. Find the status of activities in specific counties.