Southern California ICU capacity drops to 0% as state reports 379 new deaths, shattering daily record

SOUTH CALIFORNIA (KABC) – Critical care capacity in the 11-county area of ​​Southern California has fallen to 0% amid a dramatic increase in coronavirus cases, officials said Thursday.

The announcement does not necessarily mean that there are no beds available in the intensive care unit.

The state adjusts the percentage downward if counties have a higher-than-expected ratio of COVID-19 patients occupying ICU space.

News of the shrinking intensive care capacity came as the state announced the deaths of 379 Californians, marking the highest number of deaths in a day since the start of the pandemic and surpassing the previous record set the day before.

The state reported 52,281 additional new cases of the virus, just 1,400 fewer cases than California had seen the day before.

On average, 2 people die from COVID every hour in LA County with hospitals ‘under siege’ in the middle of a wave

The 379 deaths are equivalent to one life lost every four minutes over a 24 hour period.

In Los Angeles County, about two people die every hour on average from the virus, which the public health official calls an “explosive and very deadly outbreak.”

Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine is administered primarily to state health workers.

The state is expected to receive an additional 393,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine next week, according to Governor Gavin Newsom.

DEVELOPMENT: More details will be added to this report when they become available.

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