Public health officials in Los Angeles County are alarmed at the upward trend of COVID-19 infections since the county fully reopened its economy on June 15.
The county has reported more than 10,000 cases in the past week. On Monday, 1,233 new COVID-19 cases were reported, marking the 11th straight day that case numbers have reached at least 1,000.
Hospitalizations have increased more than 150% since June 15.
The county's cumulative total of COVID-19 cases throughout the pandemic increased to 1,269,090. Two more fatalities were also reported Monday, lifting the county's death toll to 24,585.
"We need to bring down transmission rates so that when schools open next month, there is much less risk,” said Barbara Ferrer, the county’s public health director.
Officials say nearly all of the reported infections and hospitalizations are occurring among unvaccinated residents.
Nationwide, health officials are saying the delta variant of the coronavirus continues to surge and accounts for an estimated 83 percent of COVID-19 cases in the country.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky testified to Congress this morning about the variant and urged vaccinations.
“The delta variant now represents 83 percent of sequenced cases. This is a dramatic increase up from 50 percent from the week of July 3,” Walensky said.
“In some parts of the country, the percentage is even higher, particularly in areas of low vaccination rates.”
Dr. Anne Simoin, an epidemiologist at UCLA, told KNX that the increased positivity numbers are a reminder that both vaccinated and unvaccinated people should take the virus seriously.
“This is just a very important moment for everybody to remember that we’re not done with this pandemic,” Simoin said.
“There are huge swaths of the population here in Los Angeles that are unvaccinated. We are still extremely vulnerable to this virus and the effects of this virus.”
Los Angeles County enacted a mask mandate on Sunday, requiring residents to wear masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status. The mandate is an attempt by county officials to stem the increase in coronavirus cases.