{"id":43787,"date":"2022-01-15T18:23:11","date_gmt":"2022-01-16T02:23:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=43787"},"modified":"2022-01-15T18:23:11","modified_gmt":"2022-01-16T02:23:11","slug":"la-county-confirms-more-than-28000-covid-deaths-reports-highest-number-of-daily-new-deaths-since-april-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=43787","title":{"rendered":"LA County Confirms More Than 28,000 COVID Deaths; Reports Highest Number of Daily New Deaths Since April 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

41,765 New Positive Cases and 66 New Deaths Due to COVID-19 in Los Angeles County<\/em><\/h3>\n

With the reporting of 66 additional deaths today, LA County is marking the grim milestone of losing more than 28,000 residents to COVID-19 since the pandemic began. Today\u2019s death count is the highest number of deaths reported in a single day since April 2nd<\/sup>, 2021, with daily deaths increasing fourfold in just one week. \u00a0The majority of deaths reported this week are associated with individuals who became infected after December 20 when Omicron was circulating widely. Daily hospitalizations also increased to 4,386, and the extraordinarily high number of new cases reflects worrisome rates of community transmission.<\/p>\n

Public Health urges residents to take steps to stay safe during the surge. Residents should get vaccinated and boosted if they have not done so yet, as unvaccinated people are between 2 and 4 times more likely to get infected than those fully vaccinated. Residents should also upgrade their masks to an N95, KN95, KF94, or a surgical mask, all of which do a better job at blocking virus particles than cloth masks. Everyone should also limit non-essential activities where people are unmasked and crowded together, especially if indoors, until transmission is lower. Residents can visit\u00a0covid19.lacounty.gov<\/a>\u00a0to find a testing site.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur hearts remain with those families experiencing the sorrow of losing those they love to COVID,\u201d said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. \u201cAs deaths often lag behind surges in cases and hospitalizations, sadly, the increase in deaths does not come as a surprise and tragically, we are prepared for even higher number of deaths in the coming weeks. With unvaccinated individuals 22 times more likely to die from COVID-19 compared to those fully vaccinated, residents should not delay getting vaccinated and boosted as these measures are saving lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) today released the latest data on COVID-19.<\/p>\n