āāāāāāāFrom January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2022, AB 685 (Chapter 85, Statutes of 2020) mandated that non-healthcare employers report COVID-19 outbreaks* to local health departments. As of January 1, 2023, non-healthcare employer reporting of outbreaks to LHDs is voluntary, unless a local order is in place. Local health departments continue to report any confirmed outbreaks to CDPH.
Latest Outbreak Data
Update as of May 1
From January 1, 2021 to May 1, 2023, a total of 45,006 confirmed COVID-19 outbreaks beginning after 1/1/2021 and 585,784 outbreak-related cases were reported to CDPH. Due to reporting delays, it is possible that additional outbreaks occurred during this time and have not yet been reported to CDPH.
Of these outbreaks, 1,766 (associated with 14,338 cases) began within the past 90 days. Among these outbreaks, the most common outbreak settings were:
Elementary and secondary schools (29.1%)
Residential care facilities (27.3%)
Skilled nursing facilities (21.6%)
Child day care services (3.4%)
Hospitals (2.āāāāā8āā%)
Outbreak data does not equate to transmission risk within a particular industry. Rates of outbreak identification and reporting may differ across settings, due to differences in testing and case tracking protocols. Also, the number of outbreaks in different settings will depend on the number of different workplaces in each setting. More outbreaks would be expected in settings with many workplaces compared to settings with few workplaces. Finally, the number of outbreaks reported likely does not capture all COVID-19 outbreaks that have occurred.
For more information on reported outbreaks, visit the CHHS Open Data Portal. Data will be updated on the first Friday of each month.
* For employer reporting purposes, outbreaks were defined as three or more cases of COVID-19 in a workplace within 14 days.