California reports lowest COVID-19 case rate in the country
California, which at one point was the country's epicenter of COVID-19, is now the state reporting the lowest positivity rate per 100,000 people, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University. As of Saturday evening, 24.99 new confirmed cases were reported for every 100,000 people in California, Johns Hopkins University data found.
The state reported a daily average of 8,172 new cases over the past eight weeks, and averaged 92 deaths due to COVID-19 complications per day during that same time period, according to the California Department of Health. As of Saturday, more than 77% of California's population is vaccinated, according to the state's Health Department.
NEW: Over 70% of Californians are vaccinated with at least one dose.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) September 18, 2021
We now have the lowest COVID case rate in the nation.
Vaccines are how we end this pandemic.
On Wednesday, California was one of three states to decrease from a high virus community transmission level to substantial, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, as of Saturday, California's transmission rate returned to high, with only Modoc County, Lassen County, Sierra County and Mono County reporting low transmission rates.
In December 2020, California became the first state to report two million confirmed COVID-19 cases. As of Saturday, the state has seen a total of 4,406,854 confirmed cases, according to the state's health department.
Newsom said the state has to "maintain our vigilance," adding "We've got to stay on top of this."
Trailing close behind California in positivity rates are Maryland, reporting 25.34 new cases for every 100,000 people, and New Jersey, reporting 26.74. Florida currently has the highest positivity rate in the country, with 262.30 of every 100,000 people testing positive for COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins.