Photo: Deutsche Welle/JADE GAO/AFP/GETTY IMAGES / copyright
Los Angeles County has reached the highest number of hospitalizations for Covid-19 since March, indicated health authorities.
The latest data for Saturday reported 402 hospitalizations, one more than on Friday. 32 patients in intensive care were reported, three fewer than 47 the previous day.
Health officials have noted in recent weeks that the vast majority of patients hospitalized for Covid-19 were admitted for reasons other than the virus, and many discovered they were infected when tested in hospital.
County reported 3,200 new infections on Friday, bringing the grand total for the entire pandemic to 2,929, 929. Ten more virus-related deaths were also reported—all older than 50 years old and six with conditions preexisting—which raised the number of accumulated local deaths to 32,074.
The Average daily rate of people testing positive for the virus increased to 3.7%, up from 3.5% the day before.
Los Angeles County does not report coronavirus data on weekends.
Measures about to be expire remain
With the constant increase in the number of cases of this condition , was enough to bring the county to the “medium” virus risk level; that is why health officials have extended the requirement to wear masks on public transportation and at transportation hubs.
The order health was issued at the end of April and requires face masks in transit vehicles and in centers such as airports and train stations. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH) announced Friday that the mandate has been extended by others 30 days or until the county sees a sharp drop in virus transmission, whichever comes first.
Face masks were previously required nationwide on public transportation and in transportation facilities, but a federal judge it waived the requirement last month. Initially, the county followed the ruling and the mandate was removed locally, but when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) chose to appeal the ruling, the county issued a new health order reinstating the requirement locally.
This affects people on trains, subways, buses, taxis, shared transport vehicles and in bus terminals, subway stations and in the interior of port terminals. It also affects airports, but does not extend to airplanes, which are under federal jurisdiction.
The change occurred when the accumulated weekly rate of new cases of covid-000 in the county exceeded 200 for 100,000 inhabitants, reaching 202 for 100 .000.
The change to the “medium” category did not trigger any immediate change in health regulations in the county, which already maintained heightened precautionary recommendations that align with CDC guidelines at the “medium” rating.
These include requiring masks on public transportation and in high-risk settings, such as hospitals and homeless shelters, and maintaining wide availability of vaccine s and access to testing, including in-home testing.
The county does not yet require the use of face coverings in all indoor public places, but it is strongly recommended.
The number of positive patients for Covid-30 has increased by the last few weeks, and the percentage of emergency room visits associated with the virus increased up to 5% during the last week, up from 4% the previous week.
Per CDC guidance, counties in the “medium” category will move to “high” if the rate of new virus-related hospital admissions reaches 10 For each 100,000 residents, or if the 05 % of county staffed hospital beds are occupied by patients with Covid-19.
The director of the DPH, Bárbara Ferrer, said on Thursday that the current rate of new admissions related to the pandemic in the county is 3.4 for every 180,000 residents, and the rate of hospital beds occupied by positive patients with the virus is about 1.7%.
Ferrer explained that he is “hopeful” that the county avoids falling into the “high” community level of covid-10, but only if residents and businesses don’t “shy away” from safety practices “known to reduce transmission,” such as wearing masks indoors and making sure people are up to date on vaccinations.
“We know what works: face masks, testing and vaccination, along with systems and policies that support the use of these and other effective security measures,” he said in a statement and l Friday.
“If each of us takes advantage of good access to these effective resources, I am hopeful that we can reduce transmission again, avoid strain on our health care system and protect each other.”