Los Angeles Covid-19 Update: County Records 1,000 Deaths In Just 6 Days

Another week during the coronavirus pandemic, another grim milestone for Los Angeles County.

There was good news and bad news on the LA Covid-19 front on Friday. On the one hand, the key numbers were down virtually across the board. On the other hand, with virus variants worrying officials and the region’s vaccine rollout sputtering, there was concern of another surge.

The morning after Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti revealed that the County Board of Supervisors is considering new business closures in case of an increase in Covid-19 numbers, the board was reportedly doing just that behind closed doors on Friday.

Covid-19 outbreaks at workplaces have soared dramatically in recent weeks in response to rising community transmission, Los Angeles County health officials said today, warning that employers need to ensure their workers and customers are protected.

“This very clearly is the latest surge for the winter holidays and New Year’s.” That was Los Angeles Public Health Chief Science Officer Dr. Paul Simon on Friday. “It’s likely to continue over the next week or two. We do expect these numbers continue to be high over the next couple weeks,” he said.

Los Angeles County saw nearly 100,000 new Covid-19 cases in a matter of one week, bringing the region to a total of 906,171 total cases.

“The very high numbers I will report today are, sadly, not a surprise,” said Los Angeles Public Health Chief Science Officer Dr. Paul Simon on Friday.

“The rate of new cases this month is translating into a disastrous increase in the number of people with severe COVID-19 symptoms being sent to our local hospitals,” said a statement from the Los Angeles County Public Health Department on Wednesday.

UPDATED, 6:05 PM: Los Angeles Dodgers legend Tommy Lasorda has been released from the hospital where he had been since mid-November. The team reported that the Hall of Famer is “resting comfortably” at his home.

Los Angeles County hospitals are so overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients that EMS workers were told Monday to ration oxygen, according to reports.  The L.A.

“The anticipated surge from the holiday gatherings has begun,” said Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer on Monday. While the daily 9142 new cases recorded in the region on Monday was less than half of the record highs seen in recent weeks, Ferrer said the low number reflects the closure of many testing sites and a delay caused but the holiday.

Los Angeles County has sun, beaches, the glamour of Hollywood, and all the joys of urban living in an area that’s one of the crossroads of the world.

Los Angeles County ended 2020 breaking Covid-19 records and brought in the new year doing just the same.

The number of daily new Covid-19 cases in Los Angeles County had been falling for two weeks. From an all-time high of 21,411 on December 16, new cases had settled at between 13,000 and 15,000. While deaths remained punishingly high, there was some hope that a plateau in cases meant that transmission of the virus had slowed. Friday’s data may smash that hope.

As cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in Los Angeles, “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” has scrapped plans to resume production next week.

On the same day that California reported by far its highest number of deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said that L.A. had breached its own grim threshold. On Wednesday, the county crossed 10,000 lives lost to Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic.

Los Angeles reached another grim milestone as the county surpassed 7,000 coronavirus-related hospitalizations for the first time, officials confirmed on Tuesday.