The number of coronavirus cases and related deaths in Los Angeles County continued to rise during the first two days of the three-day holiday, with health officials reporting on Saturday a combined count of nearly 30,000 cases.
Authorities reported 29,423 new cases of coronavirus on Christmas Day and Saturday together. Authorities said Friday’s case numbers were delayed one day because of an interruption of internet service in the Los Angeles area by Spectrum.
Local health agencies also reported 136 deaths over the two-day period. The county averaged about 14,000 new coronavirus cases a day and 88 deaths from COVID-19 a day last week.
Los Angeles County has reported a total of more than 707,000 cases of coronavirus and more than 9,440 deaths.
Hospitals across the county are full. Some have a dangerously low oxygen supply, critical for the treatment of critically ill patients with COVID-19 who have started to suffocate because of their virus-inflamed lungs. Emergency rooms are so overcrowded that ambulances have to wait up to eight hours to drop off patients or are sometimes sent to more distant hospitals.
“People who mingle with others who don’t live at home have taken the COVID-19 pandemic in LA County to the most dangerous levels we’ve ever seen,” said county director of public health, Barbara Ferrer, in a statement. “Crowded hospitals are the saddest proof of this reality. To honor our health professionals and for the safety of your family and friends, postpone your travel plans and meet only with members of our family. These actions will save lives. “
In Los Angeles County, COVID-19 hospitalizations increased to 6,815, more than triple the number for Thanksgiving Day, when 1,951 were in the hospital. ICUs across Los Angeles County are nearly full, and at Christmas, 1,368 people with COVID-19 were in the ICU, almost three times the comparable number on Thanksgiving Day, when 484 were in the ICU.
The increase in cases can be seen across the region.
On Saturday, Orange County also broke the record for the highest number of new coronavirus cases in a single day, with 5,953 cases, breaking the last record set on December 20, when 4,606 cases were reported. Orange County recorded an average of about 3,500 new cases of coronavirus a day last week.
On Saturday, Orange County also recorded its highest COVID-19 death count recorded on a single day on Saturday, with 63 new deaths, breaking the last record set on September 29, when 33 deaths were reported. Orange County had an average of 12 deaths a day last week.
Cumulatively, California reported 2.1 million cases of coronavirus and, on Saturday, passed another worrying milestone: more than 24,000 deaths. At least 234 deaths were reported across the state on Saturday, according to The Times’ independent county-by-county count, and at least 24,200 deaths were reported.
If current trends continue, the University of Washington’s Institute of Health Metrics and Assessment predicts that California could report a cumulative total of more than 70,000 deaths by April 1, all wearing masks when out and about.
With Christmas over and many people challenging the authorities’ calls to skip holiday meetings, Los Angeles County health officials are now asking people who traveled during the holiday to be quarantined for 10 days to see if they develop. signs of illness. The quarantine keeps people at home as much as possible, with groceries and restaurant food delivered to prevent the spread of the virus in the community.
“We are really working now to deal with the fact that we think there are a lot of trips,” said Ferrer on Christmas Eve. “And that means that when people come back, we need them to do that self-care for those 10 days.”