LA County death toll tops 12,000
Hospitals continue to be overwhelmed as surge worsens
The post-christmas surge of coronavirus cases is worsening in Los Angeles County, a much-feared scenario that officials say will result in more crowding at already overwhelmed hospitals and an increase in deaths. On Saturday, L.A. County reached new milestones in the pandemic: more than 12,000 dead from COVID-19 and more than 900,000 cases of the coronavirus.
The coming days are expected to be critical in determining how bad this surge will get and how much it will affect conditions at hospitals.
L.A. County’s average number of new coronavirus cases on Thursday, Friday and Saturday was 17,879 — significantly above last week’s average of 14,000.
“This very clearly is the latest surge from the winter holidays and New Year’s — no question about it,” said Dr. Paul Simon, chief science officer of the L.A. County Department of Public Health, on Friday. “It had gradually started earlier in the week, but (definitely is) here in the last day or two.”
On Saturday, there were 218 COVID-19 deaths reported in L.A. County. That came the day after the county set a single-day record, with 318. L.A. County has averaged 200 COVID-19 deaths a day over the past week.
The number of people
dying from COVID-19 daily now exceeds the average number of deaths in L.A. County from all other causes - including heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, car crashes, suicides and homicides —which is about 170 a day.
“This is another devastating day for Los Angeles County. The speed with which we are reaching grim milestones of COVID-19 deaths and cases is a devastating reflection of the immense spread that is occurring across the county,” L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement Saturday.
“This accelerated spread reflects the many unsafe actions individuals took over holidays. The travel and intermingling with non-household members made it much easier for transmission of the virus,” Ferrer said. “There is so much more risk when engaging in any activity that has you exposed to
people outside your household.”
About 1 in 5 coronavirus tests performed daily in Los Angeles County is coming back positive, a huge spike from November, when 1 test in 25 confirmed an infection.
COVID-19 hospitalizations have leveled off in recent days but remain high — at about 8,000. Intensive care units are stretched beyond capacity across L.A. County. There were a record 1,731 ICU patients on Friday, about triple the number from Dec. 1. There are only about 2,000 staffed ICU beds in L.A. County, and earlier in the week, about 400 were occupied by NON-COVID patients.
Meanwhile, officials Saturday confirmed three additional cases of the coronavirus-related multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children known as MIS-C. A total of 54 children in L.A. County have contracted the severe illness, and one has died. The disease can cause fever and inflame the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes and gastrointestinal organs. The disease is disproportionately affecting Latino children, who account for about 3 of 4 reported cases.
What is particularly frightening about the coronavirus, Simon said, is how unpredictable it is in terms of who becomes severely ill. Earlier in the pandemic, only 7 percent of COVID-19 deaths in
L.A. County occurred among people with no underlying medical conditions, while now, 14 percent of deaths are among that group.
“Everybody needs to recognize that this virus has the potential to wreak tremendous havoc, tremendous damage within the body,” Simon said.
Statewide, Friday was the worst day yet for COVID-19 fatalities, with 676, according to a Los Angeles Times survey of health agencies. That figure topped the previous single-day record of 575, set Dec. 31.