California reports record daily increase in coronavirus cases as it becomes worst-hit state in the U.S., Newsom says

California reported more than 12,800 coronavirus cases on Tuesday, the highest-reported daily tally the state has recorded so far, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday. 

California has now surpassed New York in total confirmed Covid-19 cases — more than 409,500 cases as of Wednesday — making it the state with the most cases in the U.S., according to Johns Hopkins University data. However, New York has reported more than four times the number of deaths, according to Hopkins. 

“We’re a state, again, size of 21 states combined, so it’s not surprising now in some respects as we’ve begun to reopen key sectors of our economy,” Newsom said at a press briefing Wednesday. “People continue to mix and people continue to come in close contact with others that may have contracted this disease that our numbers would start to go up in total now.” 

Newsom said the state has average 9,420 additional cases based on a seven-day average, a trend line that is “certainly” continuing to increase. California also reported 115 new deaths on Tuesday but that figure has fluctuated daily, he said. 

While the state has increased its testing, the positivity rate, or the number of positive cases to total tests performed, now stands at 7.4% over the last 14-days, a number that “continues to go up modestly.” 

This is a developing story. Please check back later for updates.