San Diego County public health officials reported 1,738 new COVID-19 infections Tuesday — the highest one-day total since late January.
Along with those new cases, 11 additional coronavirus patients were hospitalized and two sent to intensive care units.
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Tuesday's data increases the cumulative case count to 317,058 since the pandemic began. No new deaths were reported, and that number remains 3,824.
A total of 13,223 tests were reported Tuesday, and the percentage of new positive tests over the past week was 8.6%.
Officials expect the number of reported cases to increase as more schools and businesses are requiring COVID testing.
Meanwhile, the city of Encinitas will become the latest entity to require COVID-19 vaccines or regular negative tests for employees, bringing the North County city in step with the city and county of San Diego, which have installed similar policies, it was announced Tuesday.
Beginning Monday, all Encinitas employees will need to either provide documentation confirming they are fully vaccinated or be required to show negative COVID-19 tests each week. Should case numbers continue to rise throughout the county, the city may require additional testing of unvaccinated employees. Further, COVID-19 vaccinations will be mandatory for all employees within 45 days of full FDA approval. Masks are already required for all employees and visitors, regardless of vaccination status.
"The city of Encinitas is firmly committed to the health and safety of its employees and the public they serve," City Manager Pamela Antil said. "Many city employees work with the public and have regular contact with persons who could be classified as vulnerable to COVID-19. It is our responsibility to do our part to keep our employees and our community as safe as possible."
Reports Monday night said the Biden administration is poised to recommend booster shots for most vaccinated Americans eight months after they became fully vaccinated — a process that reportedly would begin in mid- to late September.
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The Washington Post reported that federal health and science officials "are coalescing around the view that people will need the boosters eight months after being fully vaccinated." Particulars of the plan were still being developed, according to reports.
In the last 30 days, 92% of COVID-19 cases have occurred in those not fully vaccinated. Of the remaining 8%, San Diego County Chief Medical Officer Eric McDonald said, few are showing symptoms and those are relatively mild.
Of all those hospitalized in the past 30 days, 98% are unvaccinated.
The Delta variant of the virus is considerably more contagious than previous strains and now comprises 95% of the virus' genome, Dr. Wilma Wooten, the county's public health officer, said at a news conference Monday.
