The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported 4,592 coronavirus cases Thursday. The increase in infections represents a record single-day number of recently confirmed COVID-19 cases, reports CBS Los Angeles.
“This week we have made significant achievements,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, the county’s director of public health, in a statement. “We have reported the majority of cases in a single day, the majority of hospitalizations and the tragically high number of deaths.”
In the past 48 hours, the county has reported 7,350 new cases of the virus. To date, county health officials have identified 147,468 positive cases of COVID-19.
“Each case represents one person who is capable of infecting, and in all likelihood, at least one other person,” said Ferrer. “If you do the math, it’s easy to see why the alarm. In a matter of weeks, the 4,600 positive cases today could lead to more than 18,000 people infected in a few weeks. And this is just for a day of new cases.” “
Mark J. Terrill / AP
Health officials also reported 59 deaths Thursday, bringing the county’s death toll to 3,988. According to the department, 93% of the deceased had underlying health problems.
As of Thursday, there were 2,173 confirmed coronavirus patients hospitalized, with 27% of those being treated in intensive care units and 17% on ventilators.
“The data shows that younger people between the ages of 18 and 40 are being hospitalized at a higher rate than observed at any point in this pandemic,” the health department said in a statement. “They comprise 20% of COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized.”
Health officials continued implore residents to cover their faces When in public, stay at least 6 feet away from people you don’t live with and wash your hands often.
“Without aggressive action on the part of each person, we will not stop the spread again,” said Ferrer.
Health officials said the test results were available to more than 1,440,000 people, and 9% of all people tested positive.
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