Indicating that the coronavirus surge is not slowing, Los Angeles County public health officials on Tuesday reported the highest single-day count of COVID-19 cases and related hospitalizations since the pandemic hit.
The worsening conditions come as California closes many businesses that were allowed to reopen in May as officials try to curb the outbreaks. But Los Angeles said that if trends don’t change soon, even more restrictive measures will be necessary.
Los Angeles County confirmed 4,244 new cases and 2,103 hospitalizations on Tuesday. Of those hospitalized, 27% are in intensive care. The county also reported 73 additional deaths, one of the highest counts reported in a single day. That number may reflect a delay in reported deaths over the weekend, authorities said in a statement.
Mayor Eric Garcetti warned that the city of Los Angeles is getting closer to the highest threat level and an impending shutdown as the dangers posed by the coronavirus continue to emerge.
“While the City of Los Angeles COVID-19 threat level remains orange, we are on the verge of going red,” Garcetti said Monday night. “It depends on all of us not to do it.”
The county is not facing a ventilator or an acute care bed shortage, but the number of hospitalizations is increasing. And while the death rate has not skyrocketed, with younger people now accounting for the majority of new cases, the number of infections continues to rise. Garcetti says the city is not yet in red-level territory, but that could change if the situation worsens.
“Red is when everything goes out again at our strictest level. I want to warn people that we are close to that, “he said.
The number of viruses is worse in Los Angeles County and across the state now than in the history of the pandemic. And while parts of the country, such as the former New York hot spot, have recently reported a decrease in cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, California has seen a steady increase.
There have never been more infections or daily positive cases reported in Los Angeles than there are today, a reality that continues to affect the rate of hospitalizations.
“We have never had as many people in the hospital as tonight in Los Angeles,” Garcetti said.
County public health director Barbara Ferrer said Monday that while the death rate is stable, the increase in hospitalizations is likely to lead to an increase in deaths.
The sharp increase in cases can be attributed to a variety of reasons, many of them linked to the state’s reopening strategy. Authorities reported that outbreaks in indoor workplaces and factories, as well as in private meetings, are important areas linked to the increase.
Garcetti said the county is aware of certain groups, such as the Los Angeles Apparel maker, where 300 employees contracted the virus and four died. The mayor also said there are anecdotal reports of other outbreaks, such as one at an indoor dinner for 30 people after a wedding that left half the diners infected.
There have been more than 140,000 coronavirus infections and 3,894 related deaths in Los Angeles County, most of the state’s total.
“If we were an independent country, Los Angeles County would have the 20th most cases in the world. In other words, we have more cases in Los Angeles County than in all of Canada, ”said Garcetti. According to the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus tracker, Canada has recorded more than 110.00 cases of the virus.
In the absence of a vaccine or medical therapy, officials have previously emphasized the need for testing as the only true barometer of the virus’s spread, and one of the few weapons available to fight the disease. But amid a national supply shortage and high demand in Los Angeles County that has outstripped the availability of materials, officials are now changing their message.
Over the past week, officials have increasingly emphasized that because a test result represents only one day, it is not foolproof to determine if a person is truly negative for the virus. And in the time it takes for a person to receive a test result, reality could change. This has always been true, but the previous message was one of widespread encouragement for the need for testing.
Dr. Mark Ghaly, California Secretary of Health and Human Services, said Tuesday the state is working on new testing guidelines to ensure the most vulnerable have access priority.
“Although we want to maintain the general population’s access to testing, it is very important for us to focus first on those whose clinical course or community can really benefit from this more specific testing approach, not as an exclusive group but as an initial priority group. . Especially during this time where transmission is high and response times have increased, “said Ghaly.
The state is evaluating about 105,000 people a day, Ghaly said, and the cost of a test is $ 100 on average.
The change in language and testing orientation occurs when California reverses the reopening course.
Governor Gavin Newsom issued a state order Monday to stop all counties from operating indoors at various businesses, including restaurants, wineries and zoos. More than 30 other counties, including Los Angeles, which had previously received that mandate, were instructed to impose even stricter rules by shutting down indoor operations at beauty and hair salons, nail salons and personal care facilities, gymnasiums, centers commercial and places of worship.
“The virus will not go away anytime soon,” Newsom said.
