Officials also reported 14,669 new cases of COVID-19 and an additional 253 deaths, bringing the county’s total to 1,003,923 cases and 13,741 fatalities.
Of the 238 deaths, excluding those in Long Beach and Pasadena – which have their own health departments -, 81 were over 80, 92 were between 65 and 79, 49 were between 50 and 64, 12 were between 30 and 30 years. 49, and four people were between 18 and 29 years old.
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The number of coronavirus patients in county hospitals remained unchanged from Friday at 7,597, with 22% in the ICU. After reaching just over eight thousand, hospitalizations have been declining in recent days.
The county has a total of about 2,500 licensed ICU beds.
But health officials have warned that the number of hospitals could rise again significantly due to infected people during the Christmas and New Year holidays. The county has continued to see high numbers of new cases daily, which always translates into more hospitalization of people.
While the figure of one million represents about a tenth of the global population, models released by the county this week estimate that up to a third of residents have become infected at some point, most likely without ever knowing it.
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The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed the first case of COVID-19 variant B.1.1.7 in a person who was recently in Los Angeles County. The individual is a man who traveled to Oregon, where he currently isolates himself.
The variant was confirmed by Quest Laboratories in Washington state.
While this is the first confirmed case of the variant in Los Angeles County, public health officials believe the strain is already spreading to the community and continue to test samples.
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“The presence of the UK variant in Los Angeles County is worrisome, as our healthcare system is already heavily strained with more than 7,500 people currently hospitalized,” said public health director Barbara Ferrer. “Our community is bearing the weight of winter.” increase, experiencing a large number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths, five times what we experienced during the summer. This more contagious variant facilitates the spread of infections in the workplace, in stores and in our homes.
“We are in the midst of a public health emergency, so do your best to protect yourself and those you love. If you are forced to work outside the home, make sure your workplace meets all requirements. mandatory safety guidelines, do not pile up anywhere, provide protective equipment and facial covers as required and fully implemented infection control measures.For those who can, it is time to stay away from all members non-household items, and when standing next to others, always keep your distance and wear a covered face.Wash your hands every hour and clean the surfaces that are touched with frequency several times a day.We must use the available tools to prevent others from becoming infected.
The new strain does not make people get sicker, but it is transmitted much more easily, which means it can spread quickly through the population.
Meanwhile, the county is working to step up vaccination efforts, with plans to open five large-scale vaccination sites Tuesday. These will be added to the large site opened by the city at Dodger Stadium on Friday and 75 smaller sites that the county already operates.
The main question now is the availability of vaccines.
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Dr. Paul Simon, head of science at the county Department of Public Health, said as of Thursday the county had administered more than 279,000 total doses of vaccine to workers and health care workers and residents of skilled nursing and care centers. long-term care. . He said the county has administered 44% of the vaccines it has received to use them as first doses in the two-dose regimen, along with 30% of those intended to be used as second doses.
“The remaining doses have been distributed to our partner’s vaccination providers or have been allocated for use over the next few weeks,” Simon said.
Simon said he sympathized with people frustrated by the slow pace of vaccine administration, especially among people 65 and older, who already receive vaccines in other jurisdictions that are deeper into the distribution process. Los Angeles County does not plan to vaccinate these people until at least February, as it is expected to take until then to finish vaccinating health workers.
“We also want to expand vaccinations as quickly as possible for those over 65,” Simon said. “The main barrier at the moment is the lack of an adequate supply of vaccine. We hope that additional vaccines will arrive soon so that we can start vaccinating the elderly in the coming weeks. We recognize that the elderly and others are anxious and in many cases , frustrated by the delay in receiving the vaccine. Please note that we are committed to expanding access to the vaccine as soon as possible. “
City News Service contributed to this report.
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