Doing something right...

California coronavirus case rate drops to lowest in continental US

Amy Graff

California has the lowest coronavirus case rate in the continental United States, an indication the state may avoid the four-wave surge some other parts of the country are experiencing.

The Golden State's seven-day case rate hit 40.3 new cases per 100,000 people per day on Wednesday, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is three times lower than the country's average of 135.3 cases per 100,000. Hawaii is the only state with a lower rate and is recording 39.1 new cases per 100,000.

On the other end of the spectrum, Michigan has the highest seven-day rate with 483 new cases per 100,000. New Jersey is the second-highest with 269.7, Delaware third at 269.7 and Pennsylvania fourth at 248.5.

An explosion of cases in Michigan led many school districts to return to remote learning. Others, such as Ann Arbor, have delayed a return from a 13-month closure for fourth graders and above. Lansing's district on Wednesday said all classes will remain online through the end of the academic year. Kids there have been virtual since March 2020.

This weeks, there's indication the surge in Michigan may finally be subsiding. The state health department on Wednesday reported nearly 5,600 cases and 45 deaths in the most recent 24-hour period. That brought the seven-day case average to 5,742 — down from the third surge's peak of around 7,000 on April 13.

Meanwhile, students across California are returning to school. Last month, Oakland Unified School District began a return to in-person learning for the first time since the start of the pandemic. About a third of students returned to San Jose Unified School District classrooms this month. The state reported 2,126 new cases in the last 24-hour period. The seven-day positivity rate is 1.5%.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced earlier this month the state will fully reopen its economy June 15 and dissolve the so-called Blueprint for a Safer Economy, whose tier levels dictate which businesses can open based on the severity of virus spread in a county.

"We will be moving beyond the blueprint and getting rid of the colored tiers," Newsom said at an April 6 press briefing. "We’ll be getting rid of the dimmer switch."