Los Angeles, Aug 2 (UNI) California has become the first US state where the total number of confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) cases has crossed half a million, California Department of Public Health said on Saturday.
A daily report released by the California Department of Public Health showed a daily jump of 6,542 COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of cases in the state to 500,130, Xinhua reported.

The 7-day average number of new cases is 7,819 per day. The 7-day average from the week prior was 10,005, according to the California Department of Public Health.

Public health officials also confirmed 219 new COVID-19 deaths in the daily update. There have been 9,224 COVID-19 deaths in California since the start of the pandemic.

Officials noted that there have been 7,886,587 tests conducted in California, representing an increase of 75,546 over the prior 24-hour period.

"As testing capacity continues to increase across the state, an increase in the number of positive cases has been expected," said the department in the daily report.

The number of confirmed cases in California surpassed New York last week for the most in the United States.
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