Welcome back Karl (the fog)! As of 10 a.m., air quality in the Mission was rated as “good” and we’re ready with the numbers on Covid-19.
The Department of Public Health is reporting a new contact tracing figure – That we get reports at all on contact tracing is a cause for minor celebration. As of August 21, tracers contacted 81 percent of those who tested positive for Covid over a 2 week period. The figure represents a slight improvement over the 79 percent we’ve previously seen. The percentage of contacts reached remains at 77 percent.
We’ve heard that DPH has overhauled the program and hired “professionals.” We can’t wait. Seriously.
While waiting, check up on three local artists, and note that SF will finally close its notorious Jail No. 4.
And now onto the numbers which, like the fog, provide some relief.
HiGeorge, a data visualization startup, developed some new visualizations for Mission Local, which we will be using and fine-tuning in the days to come.
Mission cases continue to trickle in. Our total is now 1216 as of August 22 which remains the most of any SF neighborhood.
On August 19, the seven-day average of daily cases was 81, continuing its sluggish slide.
Although the state has fixed its earlier technical glitch, like SF, California numbers less than a week ago, should be considered “less reliable”. The seven day average of daily cases as of August 19 was 7,985. Like SF, you can see the state is flattening on a relatively high plateau.
The model we use for the San Francisco R number continues to drift downward as well. It is now below 90 for the first time. Although only an estimate, other models show overall an overall downward trend. The California number is also down around 90.
On Monday, hospitalizations dropped a bit also. Unfortunately hospital capacity also dropped a bit, with 102 ICU beds, and 332 Acute Care beds available. Capacity and the number of hospitalizations do not seem to track, which probably has to do with how and when individual hospitals report their figures.
Note the small spike was a result of only 34 tests. Otherwise, the seven-day average positivity rate remains below 3 percent. But keep in mind that the positivity rate in some neighborhoods is much higher.
Three new deaths. The DPH has recently begun reporting a “more reliable” number of deaths a week late which means that we had 80 deaths last Wednesday. Why the delay? Who knows (it can’t be due to testing)? According to their website, “The deaths shown here are suspected to be associated with COVID-19 or have COVID-19 listed as the cause of death” (emphasis added).