Los Angeles County public health officials on Sunday reported 1,465 new cases of coronavirus and 93 related deaths, noting that the number of cases is generally lower on weekends because not all laboratories report the results.
Still, the sustained decline in new cases, hospitalizations and deaths suggests that the county is turning the corner from a violent autumn and winter wave that has killed some 12,000 people. The county has reported more than 1.1 million coronavirus cases in total and nearly 20,000 related deaths since the pandemic began.
There were 2,213 patients with COVID-19 in municipal hospitals as of Saturday, down almost 46% from two weeks ago, when there were 4,079 patients.
Orange County saw similar trends, reporting on Sunday 252 new cases of the virus, 40 related deaths and 577 hospitalized patients, a drop of about 45% from the previous two weeks.
Health officials have asked people to remain vigilant about observing safety precautions, as several variants of the virus are circulating in southern California, including one that appeared in the UK and is believed to be 50% more transmissible.
At the same time, efforts to vaccinate people in California, as in other states, have been slow due to shortages of supplies and weather-related delays that forced the temporary closure of several large-scale distribution locations over the weekend. , including those run by the city of Los Angeles, such as Dodger Stadium, and the Disneyland website in Orange County.
All six sites run by the city of Los Angeles will reopen on Tuesday, Mayor Eric Garcetti tweeted Sunday. Those who had postponed consultations on Friday or Saturday will be rescheduled and notified by Monday, he wrote.