Los Angeles County breaks records of deaths and cases for COVID-19 again, as hospitals are limited to limits

LOS ANGELES (KABC) – Los Angeles County has once again shattered its daily history of new coronavirus cases and deaths, as officials warn that vaccine shipments are not arriving fast enough to prevent hospitals from spreading. to its limits right now.

The county reported 138 new deaths Wednesday, the highest figure since the pandemic began.

The county also reported 22,422 new cases of COVID-19, but acknowledged that the figure included an accumulation of about 7,000 new cases from a laboratory that had not reported results for a few days. Even without adding the delay, 15,000 cases would be among the highest in the county in a day.

“However, these are extraordinary figures and represent a transmission that remains out of control,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, the county’s director of public health.

There are 4,656 COVID-19 patients admitted to the county, approximately 21% in the ICU and approximately 15% in ventilators.

The county has recorded more than 539,000 cases since the pandemic began.

The county has also reported a total of 8,568 deaths since the start of the pandemic. These figures include the cities of Long Beach and Pasadena, which maintain their own health departments. Long Beach reported 7 new deaths Wednesday and Pasadena had none, while the rest of the county reported 131.

There are now about 1 in 80 people in Los Angeles County infected with the virus, according to Dr. Christina Ghaly, the county’s director of health services.

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While the arrival of vaccine doses in the county represents a “ray of hope,” it is not coming fast enough and we are still in for a “rough weeks,” he said.

Los Angeles County hospitals are receiving 83,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine this week.

“The vaccine will not prevent the increase from happening,” Ghaly said. “There just aren’t enough doses in a short enough period of time to make a difference in the overall rate of infection in the normal population.”

Hospitals across Southern California, especially ICUs, are dangerously close as the rise continues to grow. Currently, ICUs in Los Angeles County have less than 1% of their capacity available.

Ghaly noted that people with COVID-19 infections risk taking resources from other patients, such as those involved in heart attacks or car accidents and those undergoing chemotherapy for cancer.

That’s why she and other officials have continued to reinforce the message about masks, social distancing, and just staying home.

“If you don’t do everything you can to minimize dissemination, you’re contributing to dissemination,” Ghaly said.