Los Angeles Covid-19 Update: Top Health Official Sounds Alarm About “Unprecedented And Catastrophic Suffering And Death”

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

Amid an avalanche of awful Covid-19 news on Wednesday, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced a renewed focus on preventing gatherings ahead of New Year’s Eve.

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—Hospitals in Los Angeles County are reporting a surge in COVID-19 patients and some have been forced to temporarily cease ambulance arrivals and use gift shops as makeshift treatment rooms, a report Tuesday said. The Los Angeles Times reported that Los Angeles County is experiencing its most challenging moment since the onset of the outbreak.The paper said one person died from the virus every 10 minutes in the county on Christmas Eve.

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic continues to render the holiday season, once merry and bright, a period of darkness and loss as Los Angeles Public Health officials confirm 29,464 new Covid-19 cases in just two days.

A Los Angeles EMT on an LAX-bound flight tested negative for coronavirus after providing CPR to a man who had died of COVID-19, according to reports. EMT Tony Aldapa was on an LAX inbound flight when a 69-year-old passenger went into cardiac arrest.

Southern California authorities continued to investigate Wednesday after a man allegedly shot a woman to death inside Kohl’s department store in Los Angeles County Tuesday evening, just days before Christmas, during an alleged domestic incident and fled the scene.

The Los Angeles County public health director warned residents on Tuesday that they should not use a negative COVID-19 test to justify attending gatherings during the Christmas holiday. "By the time you get a negative test result, you may no longer be negative," Barbara Ferrer said, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Clayton Davis The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA), one of the most important critics groups in the awards season, is announcing their favorites films and performances, following Boston and New York last week.Notorious for embracing foreign films and performances, the west coast group chose Neon’s “Parasite” and its director Bong Joon-ho last year, which went on to win the Academy Award for best picture and director.The last time a LAFCA winner for best film failed to be nominated

Los Angeles County reached yet another grim milestone on Saturday as Public Health officials reported more than 600,000 total cases of Covid-19. To date the county has recorded a total of 610,372 coronavirus cases.

Under assault by the rising surge in COVID-19 cases, available space continued to dwindle on Friday at Los Angeles County hospitals. As a result, health-care professionals were imploring the public to take the virus seriously to prevent medical centers from being overrun and unable to care for patients.

Los Angeles is now the epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic. It is the most infected county of the most infected state in the most infected country in the world.

“I want to be clear: Our hospitals are under siege and there is no end in sight,” said Los Angeles County’s Director of Health Services, Dr. Christina Gahly. “Unless we remain more vigilant and more diligent through the holidays and beyond, we will not be able to stop the surge.”

As the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine was delivered at a Los Angeles-area hospital, the county’s hospital and ICU capacity dropped to alarming lows.

“The worst is not behind us,” said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on Thursday. “The worst is right in front of us.”

A top health official in Los Angeles, Calif., fought back tears when speaking of the impact the novel coronavirus has had on the community.  Dr. Barbara Ferrer, the Los Angeles County's public health director, during a Wednesday news conference held back tears as she discussed the high number of coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths in L.A.  “Over 8,000 people who were beloved members of their families are not coming back,” she said while appearing to hold back emotion.

A California judge issued a ruling on Tuesday that said Los Angeles County acted “arbitrarily” and without rational justification when it banned outdoor dining late last month, according to reports. "The Restaurant Closure Order is an abuse of the Department’s emergency powers, is not grounded in science, evidence, or logic, and should be adjudicated to be unenforceable as a matter of law," wrote Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James C.

The day after Los Angeles County’s number of new cases topped 10,000 for the first time, state and local officials warned about the status of the region’s health care system.

The coronavirus continues to take hold over Los Angeles county as Public Health officials confirmed a total of 8,949 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday alone.