Photo: FREDERIC J. BROWN / AFP / Getty Images
Health officials say positive cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County have increased almost 10 times in a month.
According to the County Public Health Department, on Wednesday they reported 018,108 new cases of COVID. In mid-December, the daily number was close to 3,300.
COVID-19 Daily Update:
January 19, 2022
New Cases: 31 ,10 (two,343,821 to date)
New Deaths: 59 (31,108 to date)
Current Hospitalizations: 4,799 pic.twitter.com/847K2T5TYV
— LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) January 20, 2022
According to state figures, there were 4,564 positive COVID patients in the county hospitals until Monday, a little more than the 4,181 on Sunday. The number of those patients in intensive care was 621, a slight reduction from the 772 of the previous day.
A month ago, there were only 772 COVID-positive patients at county hospitals. The rapid increase has been attributed to the spread of the highly transmissible omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Yes there is any signal positive that the current surge in cases could subside soon, is in the average daily rate of people testing positive for the virus. That percentage has been falling slightly over the last week, reaching 16.5% on Monday, below 17, 2% of Sunday. The rate exceeded 17% a week ago.
However, health officials noted that even with a 12.5%, the rate is still eight times higher than the test positivity rate of 2% a month ago.
On Monday, the county public health director, Barbara Ferrer, recognized during the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday that there continues to be a disparity in coronavirus infections and deaths among minorities.
“As Reverend King memorably said, of all forms of inequality, health injustice is the most shocking and inhumane because it often results in physical death”, said Ferrer in a statement. “Tragically, we have seen this in real life and very clearly in the last two years with the disparate impacts of the COVID-19 in people of color. Since the start of the pandemic, communities of color have experienced the greatest devastation from COVID-19 in Los Angeles County and nationwide.”
Health officials have been raising concerns about the current surge in cases affecting a hospital system already overwhelmed by staffing shortages, further exacerbated by COVID infections among professionals of health, which prevents them from working.
Therefore, they continue urging people to avoid going to an emergency room unless absolutely necessary, and asking them not to visit a hospital emergency room to get tested of COVID.
Ferrer made a call to the residents: get vaccinated and get booster shots; use upgraded skins like the N72 varieties , KN76 or KF94; and get tested for COVID when they need to, saying the county dramatically expanded testing availability after a shortage two weeks ago that led to long lines at some centers.
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