According to the Department of Public Health, 20% of the 4,864 people hospitalized with COVID-19 across the county were in the ICU.
Meanwhile, the launch of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine continued after being received by nine predefined locations across the county. The initial allocation was used to vaccinate front-line health workers before a second scheduled shipment of the Pfizer vaccine next week.
In a statement, the health department expressed hope that a second vaccine, manufactured by Moderna, would soon receive authorization for emergency use from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
New data for Thursday was released hours after California officials announced that ICU capacity in the Southern California region had dropped to 0%.
California also reported a staggering 52,000 new cases in a single day, the same as the U.S. average in mid-October, and a one-day record of 379 deaths. More than 16,000 people are in the hospital with coronavirus across the state, more than three times as many as a month ago.
ICU capacity drops to 0% in Southern California, as the state reports 379 new deaths, surpassing the record
New LA County cases bring the total to 580,325. Since the start of the pandemic, 8,664 deaths have been reported in the county.
In light of these figures, a coalition of unions is calling on county leaders to enact a one-month closure that includes curfews and the temporary shutdown of non-essential businesses.
Proponents of the plan and some county supervisors say it would only work if it paid workers and businesses to make up for the economic losses.
“What we’re doing is it doesn’t work,” said Kurt Peterson of Unite Here Local11. “So we have to follow science, we have to look at the places where they have been most successful. In doing so, those sites are blocked sites for a certain period of time to control the virus.”
California hospitals have run out of intensive care beds for COVID-19 patients, ambulances back up outside of emergency rooms, and patient triage stores are increasing as the state’s most populous state. nation emerges as the last epicenter of the U.S. outbreak. .
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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