Los Angeles sees forty percent of Covid cases rise in past 24 hours – deadline

The Los Angeles County Public Health Department confirmed 2,551 new cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday. Officials say that is a 20-fold increase in one month, compared to 124 new cases of Covid-19 reported on June 21. It’s also a 40% increase just over the past 24 hours, when the daily count hit 1,821.

Of the new cases, 83% concern people under the age of 50. This is probably an indication of the prevalence of the Delta variant, which is more transmissible. Governor Gavin Newsom said on Wednesday that the most virulent variant now accounts for more than 60% of genomically sequenced tests in the state.

The positivity rate for Wednesday’s tests in Los Angeles was 5.2%, down from 4.8% on Tuesday. The rate was 0.7% a month ago. The positivity of tests is often considered one of the best indications of the rate of spread, as it is not affected by the number of tests administered.

Even with its strict production protocols, Hollywood has not been immune to the recent rise. Deadline reported on Wednesday that HBO was suspending production on the fourth season of Westworld following a positive Covid test. The sci-fi show joins a number of series that have had to take a hiatus due to Covid. american horror story was hit this week, while across the pond Deadline revealed breaks for shows such as Dragon house and Bridgerton.

As of Wednesday, 585 people with Covid-19 were hospitalized in the county and 23% of those people are in intensive care. A month ago, on June 21, there were 213 people hospitalized with Covid. Hospitalizations are considered a lagging indicator that increases after daily cases and tests positivity.

The jump comes just days after the Los Angeles health official ordered that masks be worn again in all indoor public spaces. While Governor Newsom has refused to reimpose such sanctions, more than 20 of the state’s 58 counties have reverted to some sort of indoor mask directive. The latest to date are Santa Barbara, Monterey, Napa, San Benito, Santa Cruz, Ventura, Lake and San Joaquin.

Of the seven new deaths reported, two people died were between 65 and 79 years old, three people who died were between 50 and 64 years old and one deceased was between 30 and 49 years old. reported by the City of Long Beach. To date, LA officials have identified a total of 24,594 Covid-related deaths.