LOS ANGELES, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- California's top health official said Friday that the latest data of COVID-19 in the state was worrisome, since it could be an early sign showing a "second wave" of the virus is coming.
California's Director of Health and Human Services Mark Ghaly updated the pandemic situation in the golden state at an online video briefing on Friday evening, saying 3,400 new cases were reported in the previous 24 hours, which marks a slight uptick from recent lows.
Meanwhile, the state's positivity rate begun to rise, he said, adding that state-wide coronavirus-related emergency department visits and new hospitalizations due to the virus are on the rise in the past week as well.
The more concerning number is the 14-day rolling average of new cases, which begun to climb by 100 or so daily in the past few days.
Ghaly said these numbers could be the first indication of a rising trend, which has been warned by local health experts for weeks after Labor Day.
During the big holiday early this month, many residents gathered for parties and barbecues. Moreover, wildfires across the state, which occurred at almost the same time, forced some people out of their houses and into more communal settings.
Given Friday's new numbers, the state projected an 89-percent increase in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, from nearly 2,600 patients to more than 4,800 in late October.
In California's largest county -- Los Angeles -- health officials reported this week that the transmission rate, or the number of new cases seen for every current case, had risen above one for the first time in weeks. Enditem
