LA County Logs Nearly 13K New COVID Cases, 17 Deaths Over The Weekend

LOS ANGELES, CA — Los Angeles County saw a dramatic increase in daily positive COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations over the last month.

The county logged 12,966 new positive cases and 17 new deaths since Saturday, according to the Department of Public Health.

This represents a 74 percent increase in average daily cases compared to just one month ago. The average number of daily positive cases this week was 25 times higher than June 2021, according to the department.

COVID-positive hospitalization trends were similarly bleak.

"Over the last seven days, the average number of COVID-positive patients per day in LA County hospitals was 580, an increase of 124 [percent] from one month ago when the average number of COVID-positive patients per day was 259," the department said in a news release.

Health officials have noted that many of the COVID-positive patients were admitted to hospitals for a reason other than the virus, and many only realized they were infected when they were tested upon admission. But county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer stressed that even though patients may have been admitted for other reasons, the fact they are infected with the virus forces hospitals to take extra precautions to prevent it from spreading, adding to the strain on the health care system overall.

Deaths were predictably lagging behind the hospitalization rate, according to the department.

"Deaths, which typically lag hospitalizations by several weeks, while still low, are beginning to slightly increase at an average of seven deaths reported per day this past week. One month ago, on May 13, there was an average of four deaths reported for the previous seven days," the department said.

The highly contagious BA.2 Omicron variant accounts for the vast majority of Los Angeles County cases, according to the Department of Public Health.

The county and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are keeping close watch on local hospital numbers. Los Angeles County is already in the CDC's "medium" category for virus activity. It will move into the "high" category if its average daily rate of new COVID-related hospital admissions rises above 10 per 100,000 residents, or if the percentage of staffed hospital beds occupied by COVID-positive patients tops 10 percent.

The figures have both been slowly rising over the past several weeks, with the rate of new admissions reaching 6.4 per 100,000 residents on Thursday, up from 5.2 a week ago. The portion of hospital beds in the county occupied by virus patients was 3.1 percent as of Thursday, up from 2.7 percent from a week ago.

If the county is moved into the "high" category, it will re-impose a mandatory indoor mask-wearing mandate.

Health officials are already strongly recommending that people wear masks indoors. Masks are still mandatory in high-risk settings such as health- care facilities, aboard transit vehicles and in transit centers, in correctional facilities and at long-term care facilities.

Ferrer said last week that at the current rate of increases in hospitalizations, the county will move into the "high" category by early July.

"Until we have a more precise understanding of how the new viral strains interact with us and our community, we need to remain vigilant and cautious. This includes layering protections to keep those most vulnerable as safe as possible, including wearing masks indoors, getting tested before gathering or attending events, and staying home if you are sick,” Ferrer said in a news release.

City News Service contributed to this report.