L.A. County Surpasses 800,000 COVID-19 Cases as Hospitalizations Continue to Increase 138 New Deaths and 15,701 New Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has reported a total of 806,210 confirmed COVID-19 cases across Los Angeles County and a total of 10,682 deaths.

Cases of COVID-19 in L.A. County have doubled in a little over a month. Public Health confirmed the first case of COVID-19 in L.A. County on January 26, 2020. Ten months later, on November 30, L.A. County reached 400,000 COVID-19 cases. In just over a month, we confirmed an additional 400,000 cases.  This is the fastest acceleration of new cases than at any other time during the pandemic.

Today, Public Health confirmed 138 new deaths and 15,701 new cases of COVID-19.  A significant number of deaths reported today are from the backlog associated with the Spectrum outage and Christmas holiday reporting delays. No additional deaths remain backlogged. There will, however, be additional reporting delays associated with the New Year’s holiday and the weekend.

There are 7,627 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 21% of these people are in the ICU. This is an increase of more than 850 patients since last Saturday, December 26, when the daily number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 was 6,770.

According to the State, the Southern California Region continues to have 0% ICU capacity remaining.  The only path that will reduce the demand on hospital care is to decrease the number of people becoming newly infected with COVID-19.

Testing results are available for more than 4,760,000 individuals with 16% of people testing positive.

“Our deepest condolences go out to the many families mourning a loved one who passed away from COVID-19 and you remain in our thoughts as we begin this new year,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “The strategy for stopping the surge is fairly straightforward. When people stay away from other people, the virus cannot spread as it is doing now. The more we stay home and the more we avoid in-person activities with other people we don’t live with, the more we reduce the spread of the virus.  While Health Officer Orders create the framework for protecting each other, it is our actions that stop people from being hospitalized and dying. When we follow the public health safety directives with intention, we avoid getting and transmitting COVID-19; this is how we stop the surge.”

Public Health urges everyone to stay home as much as possible to protect yourself and others.  Only go out for work, exercise or for essential services. When you must leave your home, wear a face covering and stay at least 6 feet away from people you do not live with at all times, no crowding, and wash hands frequently. If you have symptoms or test positive for COVID-19, isolate immediately from your family and others. Individuals with underlying health conditions and those that are older should remain in their home and not be around others unless seeking essential health and dental care. If you are having difficulty breathing, go to an emergency room or call 911.

The Reopening Protocols, COVID-19 Surveillance Interactive Dashboard, Roadmap to Recovery, Recovery Dashboard, and additional things you can do to protect yourself, your family and your community are on the Public Health website, www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

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