California hospitals saw a surge in coronavirus admissions over the 4th of July weekend, reports Reuters. California Governor Gavin Newsom said the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients increased by 50% compared to two weeks ago. The number now stands at 5,800. Younger people make up 25% of the hospital patients. The coronavirus death count in California is about 6,300.
At San Quentin State Prison in California, 1,400 inmates have tested positive for the virus, which has put a strain on hospitals in Marin County, said Newsom.
Newsom is facing criticism for reopening businesses and other public spaces too quickly. From Yahoo News:
"Newsom’s leadership has fallen woefully short," the Mercury News said in an editorial. "In the weeks ahead, we will see how short as the rising number of cases in California are followed by commensurate increases in hospitalizations and then deaths."
State Sen. Steven Glazer (D-Orinda) said Newsom reopened the state too quickly, squandering the gains made in slowing the virus with Newsom's first-in-the-nation stay-at-home order issued in mid-March.
"The heart of this problem was Newsom’s decision on May 8 to allow counties to accelerate the reopening by meeting certain benchmarks," Glazer said in an opinion article in the Sacramento Bee. "That decision came when the state’s infection rate was not declining and we had little information about how people were getting infected, despite being sheltered in place for 60 days."
