Number of COVID patients in Los Angeles County hospitals drops for 4th day in a row

LOS ANGELES (KABC) – For the fourth day in a row, the number of COVID patients in LA County hospitals has fallen.

There were 1,722 patients on Sunday. That’s a drop of 64 from Thursday. However, there were 439 COVID patients in intensive care on Sunday, up from 435 the day before.

The county reported more than 2,700 new cases and 10 deaths on Sunday.

The latest figures from Sunday brought the county’s total to 1,383,186 cases and 25,071 deaths since the start of the pandemic, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

The health department expects the number of daily cases to remain high due to increased testing by schools and businesses.

On Saturday, the department again reminded residents that those vaccinated are better protected against negative health effects if they contract the virus.

“Anyone who is not yet vaccinated should know that they do not have the same protection as those who have been vaccinated,” said Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer.

As of August 7, unvaccinated adults aged 18 to 49 were 25 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 than vaccinated adults of the same age. Meanwhile, unvaccinated adults over 50 were nearly a dozen times more likely to be hospitalized than their vaccinated counterparts, and 17 times more likely to die.

“While vaccines aren’t perfect and many of us may know someone who is fully vaccinated and has ended up contracting COVID, the three vaccines continue to do what we need most: They protect from the worst consequences of COVID-19 and allow our hospitals and clinics to continue to provide the full range of services to all those in need of health care, ”said Ferrer.

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City News Service contributed to this report.