L.A. County Hits Milestone Of 28,000 Covid Deaths; Reports 66 On Saturday, Along With 41,765 New Positive Cases

More Covid scheduling grief: The Los Angeles County Superior Court on Thursday postponed its planned Friday morning hearing on a request to open sealed testimony in the Roman Polanski sex case, citing concerns about the surge.

Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer today outlined a framework for reducing Covid mitigation measures as the current Omicron surge falls. She warned however that, even after the surge, the threat level would still be considered “high” and numbers would need to come down further before restrictions are lifted.

The winter Omicron surge is retreating across nearly all key data points in Los Angeles County except one: Deaths. Deaths each of the past two days have moved to near 100 from about 50 earlier in the week. While not an all-time high, those numbers are still substantial, especially when considered in a larger frame offered by public health officials today.

The Los Angeles City Clerk approved a petition for circulation today that aims to have the City Council repeal its requirement that people show proof of vaccination against Covid-19 before entering certain indoor public spaces and outdoor “mega-events.”

One day after Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and were called out for posing for maskless photos inside SoFi Stadium, a Los Angeles County Supervisor today called for state and local health officials to reevaluate Covid mask mandates, saying it should be up to the individual to decide when to wear one.

On Saturday, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported 73 new deaths from Covid-19, as well as 21,709 new positive cases.

A touching reminder. Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant were honored at the site of their helicopter crash on Wednesday, January 26, two years after their deaths.

Los Angeles today marked the two-year anniversary of the county’s first-known Covid infection with the tragic news that the virus had taken the life of a 15-month-old child.

The same attributes that helped the Omicron variant of Covid-19 drive a historic rise in cases and then hospitalizations earlier this month in Los Angeles now seem to be precipitating a nearly-as-rapid decline in those same numbers.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media WriterThe protocols that govern film and TV production in the COVID era have been extended yet again, this time to Feb. 13, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said Monday.The rules govern vaccine mandates, masking, quarantining, and other measures to suppress the spread of COVID-19.

Early in the pandemic, as Covid case rates rose, Los Angeles County shut down all restaurants, bars and (for practical purposes) hotels. In the months since, regulations have been loosened, customers have gotten more savvy and establishments have dialed in their protocols. Then came Omicron.

On Saturday, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported 72 new deaths from Covid-19, along with 39,117 new positive cases.

In what may be the first sign of the beginning of the end of the Omicron surge in Los Angeles, the 7-day average daily rate of people testing positive for the virus has fallen dramatically in the past week. Test positivity is considered a better measure of the rate of spread than raw case counts because it is a percentage that is averaged over a week’s time.

With infections still surging, Los Angeles County’s cumulative number of Covid cases throughout the pandemic surpassed the 2 million mark today, with 43,582 new cases confirmed. Those new cases lifted the county’s cumulative case total to 2,010,964 since the pandemic began. Daily cases in the county set an all-time high on Sunday at 45,584.

The Omicron surge in Los Angeles County is showing no signs of slowing down.

Saturday’s tally of Covid-19 cases, deaths and hospitalizations by the Los Angeles Public Health Dept. had some relatively good news – we’re no longer setting new records for cases.