SAN DIEGO (CNS) - San Diego County reported 1,387 new cases of COVID- 19 and one additional death Saturday, as the number of infections in the county continues to show a dramatic increase.
The numbers brought the county's cumulative totals to 304,974 cases and 3,811 deaths since the pandemic began.
Additionally, another 62 people were hospitalized and one put into an intensive care unit, according to San Diego County Public Health Services.
A total of 20,389 tests were recorded in Saturday's data, and the percentage of new positive cases over the past week was 8.6%.
While the county continues to see rising COVID-19 cases, more than 2 million residents are fully vaccinated -- bringing the region closer to its goal of vaccinating 75% of the 2.8 million residents eligible to get the shots, health officials announced.
In the weekly data updated on Wednesdays, a total of 2,015,700, or 71.9%, of residents 12 and older, had received two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or the one-dose Johnson & Johnson shot.
The county's goal equates to 2,101,936 people. Around 86,000 more San Diegans are needed to reach that 75% target, which is 5% higher than the state and national goal.
Robert Smith, director and CEO of the Veterans Administration San Diego Healthcare System, said this week that the climbing rate of infections is also taking a toll on veterans.
"Rates have gone up fivefold in the last six weeks in San Diego and we're seeing the same kind of an increase amongst the veterans that we serve, and those increases are being seen in those that are unvaccinated," Smith said. "We are not seeing hospitalizations amongst those that have received the vaccine, and it just points out both the safety of the vaccine that's available, but also the effectiveness of that vaccine."