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LOS ANGELES (AP) — California broke a record Sunday with more than 7,400 coronavirus hospitalizations as counties statewide prepared for stricter COVID-19 restrictions to take effect amid surging cases and Thanksgiving travel.

Health officials are preparing for a wave of cases in the next two or three weeks that could be tied to holiday gatherings.

Counties statewide issued new restrictions, many set to take effect Monday, in an effort to avoid overwhelming hospitals. Yet the state reported 7,415 coronavirus hospitalizations on Sunday, citing the most recently available data from the previous day. The new figure breaks the state’s previous record of 7,170 in July.

In San Diego County, a total of 81,084 cases and 997 deaths have been confirmed since Feb. 14. Data shows 4,603 cases of COVID-19 have required hospitalization.

An additional 26 people were hospitalized with the virus Sunday, bringing the total to 671 patients in area hospitals. Six more patients were sent to the ICU with 178 San Diegans now in intensive care. Click here to see a breakdown of patients who have needed in-hospital care.

  • COVID-19 Hospital Census via sandiegocounty.gov
  • COVID-19 Daily Hospital Bed Census via sandiegocounty.gov