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COVID-19 Cases Rise To 7,240, Supervisors Consider Eviction Ban Next Week

Caution tape surrounds a city park that was closed because of the coronavirus pandemic, April 6, 2020.
Andi Dukleth
Caution tape surrounds a city park that was closed because of the coronavirus pandemic, April 6, 2020.

San Diego County public health officials reported 140 COVID-19 cases and six additional deaths Friday, raising the county totals to 7,240 cases and 266 deaths.

County health officials recorded 4,624 tests Friday, raising the cumulative total number of tests to 151,910.

The 140 positive tests Friday comprise 3% of the total number, and the 14-day rolling average testing positive is just 3.1%, giving officials like Dr. Wilma Wooten, the county's public health officer, reason to believe the region's cases have "peaked."

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Of the positive cases, 17.9% or 1,296 have been hospitalized and 378 of those, or 5.2% of all cases have spent some time in intensive care.

Chairman of the County Board of Supervisors Greg Cox and County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher released a joint statement Friday announcing they planned to ask the Board of Supervisors to extend its moratorium on evictions for both residents and small businesses for another month.

"We are proposing extending San Diego County's eviction moratorium for residents and small businesses through June 30th," the supervisors said in the release.

"Our region is slowly recovering from the severe economic damage caused by the pandemic. Although more businesses are reopening, it is going to take time for merchants and their employees who have been out of work to rebuild their bank accounts enough to pay their rent. This will give residential and commercial renters more time to get back on their feet. But we are encouraging renters to pay as much rent as they can and set-up a payment program with their landlords."

The current moratorium expires May 31 and the extension will apply only to unincorporated areas of the county. The board will vote on the issue during its Tuesday meeting.