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

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (KABC) – ICU capacity in the Southern California region, eleven counties, has dropped to 0% amid a dramatic increase in coronavirus cases, officials said.

The ad does not necessarily mean that no intensive care beds are available.

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

The news of the declining capacity of the ICU came when the state announced the deaths of 379 Californians, marking the highest number of fatalities in a day since the pandemic began and surpassing the previous record set on previous.

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

If California were a country, here’s how it would rank based on Johns Hopkins’ daily COVID-19 case count for December 16:

1) US 247,403
2) Brazil 70,574
3) California 53,711
4) United Kingdom 25,161
5) India 24,010
6) France 17,720
7) Italy 17,568

There are 2 people who die of COVID on average every hour in Los Angeles County with “harassed” hospitals in full swing

The 379 deaths equate to one life lost every four minutes in a span of 24 hours.

In Los Angeles County, about two people die every hour on average from the virus, which the public health official says is “an explosive and very deadly increase.”
The Pfizer coronavirus vaccine is given primarily to state health workers.

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

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

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