California tops 10,000 virus deaths, 3rd highest

By The Associated Press undefined
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California has surpassed 10,000 deaths from the coronavirus, making it the U.S. state with the third-highest deaths since the start of the pandemic.
The figure was reported Friday by Johns Hopkins University, with 10,024 dead since the outbreak began in California in February.
New York has the highest number of deaths at more than 32,000, followed by New Jersey with nearly 16,000. California is the nation’s most populous state with 40 million people.
The first known COVID-related death in the U.S. occurred in early February in the San Francisco Bay Area county of Santa Clara. Nearly half of California’s deaths are in hard-hit Los Angeles County, where more than 4,800 of its 10 million residents have died.
Gov. Gavin Newsom was the first in the nation to issue a stay-home order in mid-March, but the virus began to surge after the Memorial Day holiday as the state relaxed some measures.
The current infection rates are unclear because California’s system is beset by technology problems, delaying the reporting of test results.