San Diego County reports 31 new coronavirus cases; county extends public health order

San Diego County reported 31 new coronavirus cases Sunday, March 29, bringing the total to 519. The death toll remained unchanged at seven.

The largest number of cases, 130, was among patients in the 30 to 39 year age group, followed by 107 from ages 20 to 29 years. Only four cases were patients 9 years old or younger, and 298 of the cases were males.

The city of San Diego, with by far the largest population, had 314 cases or 60.5 percent of those in the county. El Cajon had 29 cases, Chula Vista had 25, and Carlsbad had 20.

Every city in the county has at least one case, and 3.5 percent of the cases are in unincorporated areas, according to the statistics provided by the county Department of Health and Human Services Agency.

The latest numbers included an additional 10 people in hospitals, for a total of 106 hospitalizations, including 47 in intensive care.

The county has “indefinitely” extended its public health order that closes bars, schools and restaurants to address a sharp rise in coronavirus cases, officials announced Saturday. March 28.

The order, issued March 17, was supposed to end March 31, but officials said they expect a peak of illness and death still to come.

“None of us know exactly how long it will last, we don’t exactly how many cases we will have or what day that we might hit the apex or flatten that curve,” said county Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, “but we know the early days — and we are still in the early days — are the most critical and the most important.”

The nonprofit hotline 211 San Diego will begin connecting callers with one of 60 public health nurses to answer clinical questions about COVID-19, including symptoms and best courses of action. The nurses will be staffing lines from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week. To access, call 2-1-1.

--Phil Diehl and Wendy Fry are reporters for The San Diego Union-Tribune