Long Beach coronavirus cases pass 10,000
A COVID-19 test is handed to a patient at a drive-up testing site for the coronavirus at Long Beach City College’s Pacific Coast Campus in Long Beach Thursday, July 16, 2020. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova. Long Beach reached a grim milestone on Friday, passing 10,000 reported COVID-19 cases and 200 deaths since the start of the pandemic this year. The city reported 10,016 cases, up from 9,930 on Thursday, with 74 people hospitalized. Long Beach saw one additional death, for 201 fatalities. Of those, 133 are connected to long-term care facilities. The city reported a seven-day positivity rate (the number of positive tests compared to overall tests) of 7.8%, which is down from previous weeks. City health officials this week said Long Beach is inching closer to meeting the state’s COVID-19 indicators for reopening, but more time is needed. While the positivity rate is below the state’s required 8%, the city is still at a 14-day average case rate of 184 cases per 100,000 residents, which is higher than the state goal of 100. Los Angeles County’s chief medical officer, meanwhile, warned that high blood pressure and diabetes are the most common underlying ailments in coronavirus patients who […]