The state Department of Public Health said on Friday that there were more than 47,000 new confirmed cases reported, bringing the total to more than 2.29 million.
State hospitals ended the year “on the brink of catastrophe,” said a health official, as the pandemic took deaths and illnesses to surprising levels and some medical centers were struggling to provide oxygen to critically ill patients.
RELATED: Once a model, California now struggles to tame COVID-19
Governor Gavin Newsom’s office announced on Friday that California would begin collaborating with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to evaluate and update outdated oxygen delivery systems at six Los Angeles area hospitals.
The collaboration comes at a time when older hospitals are having a hard time maintaining oxygen pressure in aging infrastructure and some were struggling to locate additional oxygen tanks for discharged patients to take home.
California this week became the third state to exceed 25,000 COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic began.
Southern California’s ICU bed capacity still remains at 0%.
“In the ICU, we are out of our capacity. We are creating spaces out of nothing,” said Olena Svetlov, MSN, RN at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
The rest of the state is not doing much better. The San Joaquin Valley also has 0% availability of ICU. The bay area dropped to 6% and Sacramento, 11%.
Los Angeles County reported more than 20,000 new cases on Friday and more than 200 deaths.
LA County officials reported a death every 10 minutes, begging people on social media to stay home and safe.
But many ignored these calls on New Year’s Eve, with a series of public meetings held throughout Southern California.
RELATED: Kirk Cameron Hosts New Year’s Eve Meeting at Point Mugu, Despite Warnings From Public Health Authorities
On Friday, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department announced its “super-publicizing” task force, making 90 arrests in five different locations last night.
Actor Kirk Cameron organized another unmasked meeting on Thursday, with groups of people seen on the beach at Point Mugu for a religious event.
It was a similar scene in Valencia, where hundreds filled a parking lot to announce the new year. Few who attended the open-air concert, presented by Christian activist Sean Feucht, at the Higher Vision Church wore masks or were physically distant.
Car enthusiasts gathered in Pasadena for the annual cruise of the Rose’s parade on New Year’s Eve, although the world-famous show has been canceled.
“It’s hard not to make this correlation between these holidays and the peak we see right after them,” said Shane Reichardt, of Riverside County’s Emergency Management Department.
Meanwhile, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. surpassed 20 million on Friday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
RELATED: USA Reaches 20 Million in COVID-19 Cases
That is almost double the second country, India, and almost a quarter of more than 83 million cases worldwide.
The United States continued to overtake other countries in cases of COVID-19, reaching 20 million at the beginning of the new year, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
COVID-19 deaths have also increased in the country, now totaling more than 346,000.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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