By KAREN VELIE

COVID infections increased 18% during the past week in San Luis Obispo County, as the rate of new cases increases slightly, according to data from the SLO County Health Department. New reported cases rose from a daily average of 97 on June 8 to 115 on June 15, with two new deaths.

During the past seven days, the county reported 950 SLO County residents officially tested positive for the virus. San Luis Obispo leads with 274 new cases, followed by Paso Robles with 134, Atascadero with 119, Arroyo Grande with 88 and Grover Beach with 58.

The number of SLO County residents in hospitals receiving treatment for the virus is up slightly, with 13 currently hospitalized.

In SLO County, 57,484 people have tested positive for the virus and 509 have died.

There have been 9,853,976 positive cases, and 92,048 deaths in California.

More than 87,759,180 U.S. residents have tested positive for the virus, and 1,037,664 have died.

In addition, the number of people infected with the virus worldwide continues to increase: 542,597,078 cases with 6,336,892 dead.