SAN FRANCISCO, May 6 (Xinhua) -- San Francisco now has the second-highest rate of COVID-19 infection in the western U.S. state of California, with an average of 40 new daily cases per 100,000 residents, according to state data published Friday.

       Bay Area's San Francisco, Santa Clara, Marin and San Mateo counties, as well as Santa Cruz County, had all fallen within the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) "yellow" tier as of Friday morning, signaling that more than 200 cases were reported in the last week for every 100,000 residents.

       As the U.S. COVID death toll approaches 1 million, at least 32,500 children in California and more than 214,400 nationwide have lost at least one parent or primary caregiver to the virus, according to "Hidden Pain," a report from the COVID Collaborative, a nonprofit advocacy group.

       According to a separate CDC "community transmission" rating, based on case numbers per 100,000 and test positivity rates, all nine Bay Area counties, as well as the counties surrounding the San Joaquin River Delta and virtually the entire California coast, are classified as "high," the worst level, according to a report by The San Francisco Chronicle.