California Sees A Record Number Of COVID Deaths In August, Reaches 700K Cases

California registered more than 3,000 coronavirus-related deaths during August, marking the deadliest month for the state, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.

The state reported 3,745 deaths from COVID-19, representing an 18% increase over July, the report found. California also topped 700,000 overall coronavirus cases, the highest total in the country. However, after adjusting for population size, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi have a higher number of cases, the LA Times reported, citing an analysis of federal data.

Despite the August numbers, infection and hospitalization rates have declined for more than a month, the report noted. If Californians continue employing social distance strategies and wearing face masks, then deaths will likely continue to decline, California officials say, according to the LA Times.

California is reporting an average of 112 deaths per day going into September, a decrease from 133 daily deaths at the start of August, the report noted.

Gov. Gavin Newsom rolled out a plan over the weekend to reopen the state’s economy after he reinstituted some stay at home orders in July following a surge in COVID-cases. The virus originated in Wuhan, China, before spreading to the United States, where it has reportedly killed more than 180,000 people, data from John Hopkins University show.

Hair salons, barbershops, stores and shopping malls will be allowed to reopen, provided they maintain only 25% capacity, the LA Times reported.

Government officials across the country imposed economic lockdowns in March to slow the spread of the virus. The orders contributed to a severe economic downturn, with tens of millions of Americans filing for unemployment during the first few weeks of the virus. Nearly 17 million reportedly people lost their jobs between March and April.