Los Angeles County Reports 7,854 Daily COVID-19 Cases

LOS ANGELES (KABC) – On the same day Gov. Gavin Newsom announced new stay-at-home orders that could impact southern California, Los Angeles County officials reported another record-breaking number daily cases for COVID-19.

The county reported 7,854 new cases on Thursday – breaking a record set earlier in the week – as well as 44 additional deaths.

Health officials have warned that based on the county’s current transmission rate, the number of daily cases is expected to continue to rise.

Los Angeles County now has 421,881 cases since the start of the pandemic.

The county is also reporting an increase in hospitalizations, now at 2,572 as of Thursday.

As the new numbers are released, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said his department would start targeting “super-spreader events” for the app.

Previously, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department generally did not focus on applying and issuing tickets for violations of the county’s COVID-19 protocols. Most of the enforcement of restrictions on restaurants and other businesses was handled by inspectors from the county health department.

“Since March, we have continued to focus on education and voluntary compliance with health orders,” Villanueva tweeted. “In the future, we will also conduct a targeted application on super-spreader events.”

He did not define what type of “super-broadcaster events” might be targeted. But county officials in particular warned of large social gatherings involving people from different households. The county’s latest home security orders call on people not to congregate at all with other people outside their homes.

There have been several cases of people hosting large house parties or weddings with dozens or hundreds of people in attendance, many not wearing masks. In several cases, the Los Angeles Police Department responded and shut down parties and the city attorney’s office took legal action. The city of Los Angeles has also said it could shut down utilities for properties that violate orders.

RELATED: Huge Child’s House Party Closed in Sherman Oaks

Newsom’s order announced Thursday would take effect region by region, whenever an area falls below 15% of available capacity in hospital intensive care units.
Newsom said this would happen in Southern California within days.

But Los Angeles County officials said 76% of the intensive care unit beds are in use, meaning the remaining capacity is around 24%.
RELATED: Los Angeles County Stay-at-Home Order goes into effect

They said the number remains a fluctuating figure and that based on their discussions with the state, “that threshold could be reached at some point early next week,” said Dr Christina Ghaly, director of the departmental department of health services.

State officials say Southern California as a whole accounts for 20.6% of available ICU capacity. The number should fluctuate daily.

RELATED: Los Angles County Sees ‘Terrifying’ Increases in COVID-19