LA County Reports 1,842 New COVID-19 Cases, 22 Deaths
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Wednesday reported 1,843 newly confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus and 22 deaths, bringing countywide totals to 313,562 cases and 7,117 deaths.
Health officials reported the number of new cases surpassed the high daily numbers seen over the past two weeks and is the largest number of new cases not associated with backlog cases since late-August.
"I thank all of our businesses, schools and residents who continue to make COVID-19 safety measures part of their daily routine," Dr. Barbara Ferrer, county public health director said. "Unfortunately, the continued significant increase in cases reflects many instances where basic prevention measures were lacking. Unless we can all get back to protecting each other, our recovery will stall."
Of those whose deaths were reported Wednesday, eight were over the age of 80, seven were between the ages of 50 and 64, one was between the ages of 30 and 49 and one was between the ages of 18 and 29. Fifteen had underlying health conditions.
Health officials also reported a slight increase in the number of daily hospitalizations with 817 people with COVID-19 hospitalized — 29% of whom were being treated in intensive care units.
This marks the first time the number of daily hospitalized COVID-19 patients has exceeded 800 since mid-September. And while lower than the peak of more than 2,200 in mid-July, health officials said it was most likely associated with the continued increase in cases over the past two weeks.
The department also reported that the county remains in the state's most restrictive purple tier with an adjusted case rate of 7.5 per 100,000 residents. In order to move to the red tier, the county must reduce its daily number of cases to 7 or fewer new cases per 100,000 people for two consecutive weeks.
But there was some good news with the county reporting a 7-day average positivity rate of 4% and a health equity metric of 6.8%, which both meet the threshold for less restrictive tiers.
With testing results available for nearly 3,182,000 people, the county's overall positivity rate was holding steady at 9%.
