Coronavirus: California reports record-high ICU usage and hospitalizations

California hit all-time highs in the number of patients hospitalized or in intensive care unit beds with COVID-19, while county health departments reported 9,522 new COVID-19 cases and 95 deaths on Friday,

The cases and deaths reported bring California to 310,175 total cases and 6,945 deaths since the start of the pandemic. Many of the new cases are in Southern California, led by Los Angeles with 2,620 new cases and 49 new deaths. Riverside County reported 1,431 new cases and four deaths, and Orange County reported 1,133 new cases and 10 deaths. San Bernardino and San Diego counties had the fourth and fifth most new cases in the state, respectively.

California also reported 6,171 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 on Thursday, the highest number ever in the state with the most recent data available. An additional 1,725 patients are hospitalized with suspected but not yet confirmed cases of COVID-19. The 1,777 patients in ICU beds with COVID-19 in California are also a record high. There are an additional 228 patients in ICU beds with suspected cases of COVID-19.

Statewide, there were 97,303 new coronavirus tests reported to the Department of Public Health with a seven-day average positivity rate of 7.7 percent, slightly higher than the 14-day average of 7.4 percent.

In the Bay Area, Santa Clara County had the most new cases at 185 — the fifth-highest number of new cases reported in a single day in the county — for a total of 5,863. It reported no new deaths and has a total of 166. The uptick comes just a few days before the county is set to expand its reopening to allow gyms and hair and nail salons, among other businesses.