California became the first state in the United States to register 2 million coronavirus cases.
According to the Johns Hopkins University census released Thursday, California has 2,010,157 cases. The state has suffered more than 23,000 deaths from the disease.
The infection rate in California – in terms of the number of cases per 100,000 people – is lower than the United States average, but with nearly 40 million residents, the outbreak is only bigger than other states.
The sad figure comes as authorities say that Thanksgiving social gatherings have exacerbated the crisis and are running out of state medical resources. More than 18,000 people are hospitalized in California and many of the intensive care units are down.
The state has seen the number of cases soar in recent weeks, fueled largely by people ignoring warnings and holding traditional Thanksgiving celebrations, health officials say. Increasing numbers of hospitalizations and deaths have overwhelmed intensive care units and forced hospitals to tent patients in the emergency room and treat others in offices and auditoriums.
Most of the state is in lockdown with curfews, many business closures and restrictions keeping retail activity at 20% capacity. Restaurants can only serve take-out.
Requests to avoid social gatherings around Christmas and New Years have a particularly desperate tone in Southern California. Los Angeles County is leading the infection resurgence, with one-third of the state’s cases and nearly 40% of deaths.
“We know this emergency is our darkest day, arguably the blackest in the city’s history,” Mayor Eric Garcetti said Wednesday, as the county reported the highest number of deaths and hospitalizations in one day since its inception. of the pandemic – 145 dead and more than 6,000 people in hospitals.