State reports a record 585 virus deaths in single day

LOS ANGELES — California started the new year by reporting a record 585 coronavirus deaths in a single day after a health official said the pandemic was pushing state hospitals to the

“brink of catastrophe” as some medical centers scramble to provide oxygen for the critically ill.

The California Department of Public Health on Friday reported more than 47,189 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to nearly 2.3 million. Nearly 26,000 people have died from the virus in the state.

The previous single-day record of 432 deaths was set on Tuesday.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced California would begin collaborating with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to evaluate and upgrade outdated oxygen delivery systems at six Los Angeles area hospitals.

Assessments at hospitals could begin as early as today, according to a statement from the governor’s office. The collaboration comes as older medical centers are having difficulty maintaining oxygen pressure in aging infrastructure and some were scrambling to locate additional oxygen tanks for discharged patients to take home.

“By working to upgrade challenged oxygen delivery systems at these older hospitals we can improve the ability to deliver life sustaining medical care to those who need it,” Mark Ghilarducci, director of the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, said in a statement Friday.

California on Thursday became the third state to exceed 25,000 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic, behind New York with nearly 38,000 deaths and Texas with more than 27,000, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

In addition, San Diego County said it had confirmed a total of four cases involving a mutant variant of the coronavirus.