Public Health said it believed the UK’s most contagious variant is probably already spreading in the community and urged residents to follow security measures “more diligently”.
“The presence of the UK variant in Los Angeles County is worrying, as our health care system is already severely tense, with more than 7,500 people hospitalized,” said director of Public Health, Dr. Barbara Ferrer, in a statement.
“Our community is suffering the impact of the winter wave, with a large number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths, five times more than in the summer.
“This more contagious variant makes it easier to spread infections in the workplace, in stores and in our homes. We are in the middle of a public health emergency, so please do everything you can to protect yourself and people that we love, “said Ferrer. .
The total number of cases in LA County exceeds that of Cook County of Illinois (429,270 cases) and Maricopa County of Arizona (407,631 cases) combined, according to data from John Hopkins University.
Cook and Maricopa counties currently have the second and third highest number of cases in the country, respectively, show JHU data.
“There are currently 7,597 people hospitalized with Covid-19, and 22% of those are in the ICU,” said LA County Public Health in its statement.
‘Waking up with a nightmare every day’
LA City Fire spokesman David Ortiz spoke to CNN at Dodger Stadium, where vaccines were being administered on Saturday.
Ortiz said the situation in Los Angeles was “surreal”.
“It looks like you are waking up to a nightmare every day. We are trying to reduce this huge pandemic of people who are getting sick, listening to how many people die every day is unfathomable,” he said.
“We, in our fire department, have lost two of our members – two valuable members – to this disease, and it comes home to see the nurses begging people to stay home, not to have these parties.
“It is moving to see them work to exhaustion and continue to arrive every day – every day – and put on their game and go to work for all these people – taking care of all these people.”
Ortiz said that many of the deaths caused by Covid-19 were unnecessary, but that the vaccination program brought hope.
“Because every person who is vaccinated, this is an opportunity for a person who can be saved by this vaccine. And that is one less person who will become a victim of this virus, ”he said.
The coronavirus has infected and killed more people in the United States than in any other country.
CNN’s Stella Chan contributed to this report.