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Coronavirus cases are on the rise again in Los Angeles County, sparking new alarm from health officials calling on residents to redouble their efforts to protect themselves against the spread of the virus.
Although “not as steep as what we saw in July,” said county public health director Barbara Ferrer, “we are very concerned that the numbers may continue to rise.”
“These numbers show real and alarming increases, and the next two weeks will be crucial,” she said in a briefing Monday. “As we move into our cooler months and vacation, we are increasingly worried about more and more transmission of the virus and more hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19.”
In LA County, officials announced at least 2,000 new coronavirus infections every day from Thursday to Sunday.
The county reported more than 1,413 new cases on Monday, but Ferrer said the numbers were generally lower at the start of the week due to reporting delays over the weekend.
Before the recent rash, the last time the county’s daily case count exceeded 2,000 without being inflated by a backlog of reports was August 15, according to the Times tracker.
In the seven-day period that ended Sunday, Los Angeles County reported more than 13,000 cases, a jump of 38% from the previous week and the highest number of weekly cases in addition to two month.
The increase in cases has been steady and sustained. As of early October, the seven-day average of LA County coronavirus cases stood at about 940 new cases per day. For the seven-day period that ended Sunday, there were an average of 1,860 cases per day.
“It’s no longer a problem. It’s not, ‘Oh, you know, we’ve had a bad weekend. And, you know, we are now taking control back, ”Ferrer said. “This is now a push in our cases. And if this continues, it will be quite alarming to step into our colder months seeing this level of increase in cases.
Ferrer said the startling numbers should be a call for Angelenos to re-dedicate himself to the oft-recited protocols to quell transmission: wearing masks in public, maintaining physical distance from those you don’t live with, staying in touch. home when you are sick. , washing your hands regularly and avoiding gatherings.
Any retreat from these practices, she warned, could not only put the health of residents at risk, but also compromise the county’s ability to further reopen businesses and other public spaces.
“We don’t have the luxury of ignoring our individual and collective responsibilities if we want to see more children go to school and businesses stay open,” she said. “The recovery just doesn’t continue when you have thousands of new cases every day. And a lot of those cases come from people taking risks that, frankly, are not appropriate. It’s not that hard to play by the rules, especially since those rules are what keeps some people alive and makes our economy better.
The rallies have emerged as a matter of particular concern to health officials.
Experts and health officials across the state have for weeks urged residents to avoid gatherings as much as possible, or at least take precautions such as wearing masks, staying outside and standing at least six feet from members of other households.
Such measures are all the more vital now, officials say, as California seeks to avoid the massive spikes currently plaguing many other parts of the country. The United States officially surpassed 10 million confirmed COVID-19 cases on Monday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
LA County is not alone in seeing a troubling increase in coronavirus infections. Santa Clara County reported 358 new cases on Sunday – its second-highest daily total, behind 385 recorded on July 15.
“These trends are a stark reminder that COVID-19 is all around us,” Dr Sara Cody, county health official and director of public health, said in a statement. “Each of us must redouble our efforts to keep our community safe.”
Statewide, the seven-day average for new cases is 5,889, compared to a 14-day average of 5,060.
If the current trend of cases continues, it’s conceivable that California could reach 1 million recorded coronavirus cases later this week.
The state also seems certain to take another dark step in the not too distant future: 18,000 deaths.
As to why the numbers are rising in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday, “It’s for obvious reasons: People are letting their guard down.
“They take off their masks; they begin to meet outside of their family cohorts; they’re starting to see businesses reopen; and we’re starting – again – to see more people mingling, ”he says. “As it’s colder, we’ll see more. So it was planned. No one is surprised by this.
California has also seen its positivity rate – the proportion of people tested infected with the coronavirus – increase to 4.1% over the past week, according to the latest state data. It wasn’t until the end of September that the share of Californians who had tested positive for COVID-19 in the previous week fell below 3% for the first time.
In the past 14 days, the total number of COVID-19 hospital patients in California rose from 2,334 to 3,001 – a 28.6% increase, according to figures presented Monday by Newsom.
Intensive care admissions for patients with COVID-19 have also increased, from 659 two weeks ago to 839.
Newsom said the state’s healthcare system still had abundant capacity at this point, as patients with COVID-19 currently only occupy about 4% of hospital beds and 11% of those in the hospital. ‘USI.
Although there has been some promising news recently on the vaccine front – Pfizer announced Monday that the first data on its coronavirus vaccine candidate suggests that vaccines could be 90% effective in preventing disease – Newsom pointed out that Californians should not see this as a quick fix, as mass distribution of any vaccine is not imminent.
“I’m concerned, honestly, that we are getting too rambunctious because now we think we have a safe and effective vaccine that is available and people could go back to their original form,” he said during the interview. ‘a briefing. “It would be a terrible mistake. It is absolutely incumbent upon us to recognize two things: a vaccine is on the way. It’s good news. But the availability for you and me and others besides our first responders, apart from our healthcare professionals, is several months.
Despite the rise, the number of weekly coronavirus cases that California recorded recently is far from the peak seen over the summer. For the seven-day period that ended Thursday, California reported nearly 34,000 cases, about half of the state’s worst week, July 17-23, when 66,341 cases were diagnosed.
By comparison, the United States as a whole recorded more than 662,000 cases last week – the second consecutive weekly record.
Throughout the pandemic, and especially since the summer outbreak, officials have continually insisted that personal choices – wearing a mask in public, attending this party, staying home if you feel sick – play a role. as important a game as possible. role in shaping the future of COVID-19 as broader public policy decisions.
“We know the pandemic has changed our way of life,” Dr. Mark Ghaly, Secretary of State for Health and Human Services, said in a briefing last week. “We have all made sacrifices – some that we were okay with, others were very difficult – and each of those sacrifices has helped us slow the spread of COVID in our state. And I would say Californians have done an amazing job.
“We need to continue these efforts,” he added, “as we know cases can start to skyrocket quickly.”
This is a particularly troubling possibility as falling temperatures are pushing people more and more indoors, and the upcoming holidays inspire people to celebrate with family and friends.
“We understand that people are very tired of this COVID world, and we hope that in the new year there will be new strategies that will help us to control the spread,” Dr Paul Simon, scientific director of the county department of LA Public Health, said at a briefing last week. “But for now, certainly during the Thanksgiving and December holidays … we really discourage gatherings outside your home.”
Associated Press and Times editors Iris Lee and Sean Greene contributed to this report.
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