LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CA – Los Angeles County reported another 1,098 cases of COVID-19 and eight additional deaths on Sunday, bringing the province’s total to 231,695 cases and 5,545 deaths.
The relatively lower number of cases and deaths was attributed to reporting delays over the weekend.
Officials have accused declining hospitalization numbers and test positivity figures in recent weeks as signs that the province has successfully slowed the spread of COVID-19. Those numbers continued the trend in the right direction Sunday, with hospitalizations falling from 1,280 on Saturday to 1,247, and 33 percent of those in intensive care.
An average of about 2,200 hospital patients were seen in mid-July.
Test results were available for 2,182,882 people as of Sunday, with 10 percent of all people testing positive.
Officials note that despite the stimulating trends, the virus is far from under control.
“I want to extend my sincere sympathy to all of our LA County residents who are grieving the loss of a family member, friend, co-worker or loved one. Your loss will not be noticed, and we hold you in our hearts in these days of grief,” “said Barbara Ferrer, Director of Public Health. “The positive trends that the province is seeing are encouraging and reflect less transmission of the virus in the workplace and in the community. We must continue to take all the actions that have taken us to this place. Residents are encouraged to physically distance from those who are not in their household, wash hands frequently, avoid meetings and crowds, and wear a clean cloth surface that securely covers both their nose and mouth when in contact with others who are not part of their household “These are the actions we are taking for each other leading the county in its recovery efforts.”
Ferrer took part in an ABC7 online question-and-answer session Friday, Ferrer noted that two weeks after the fourth of July weekend, the province had “our worst turnout in cases and hospitalizations.”
“Obviously we’re looking at what else we can do about Labor Day,” Ferrer said.
She did not provide specifications as to what steps could be taken to prevent a recurrence of the post-July 4 and Memorial Day spikes, but Ferrer said she hopes people will take into account the restrictions on public collection during the upcoming PvdA weekend.
Ferrer recently noted that the province now meets five of the state’s six criteria for controlling infections, and falls short only in the per capita rate of people testing positive for the virus.
Until the province meets all six of the criteria, it will remain on the state’s mononavirus monitoring list, preventing more businesses from reopening and requiring school campuses to remain closed.
LA County has been one of 35 counties on the watch list since Sunday. Orange County was removed from the list this weekend.
