SACRAMENTO, Calif. — During a press briefing held Tuesday afternoon, the Secretary for California Health and Human Services Dr. Mark Ghaly said California "starting to see the decline" in new cases of COVID-19, and hospitalizations have stabilized.
"We are seeing some reductions in transmission. You will see that theme throughout the data presented here. And I think we are seeing that statewide and not just in certain parts that have often seen that decrease most, but we are also seeing it in those heavily impacted areas like Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley," said Dr. Ghaly.
Dr. Ghaly said the current number of hospitalizations in the state is at 20,263, which is down 8.5% over the past two weeks.
He said admissions at hospital intensive care units are down 2.8% over the past week.
He also said COVID-19 test positivity rates — another key indicator tracked by health officials — have also come down to 11.6% compared to 12.7% earlier in January.
Ghaly said that there wasn't as big a bump in coronavirus cases as expected over the Christmas and New Year's holidays.
