LOS ANGELES (CNS) — The number of COVID-19-positive patients in Los Angeles County hospitals continued an unnerving climb today as the virus' Omicron variant continued to fuel rising infection numbers in the Southland and beyond.
According to state figures, there were 966 COVID-positive patients in L.A. hospitals as of Monday, up sharply from 904 on Sunday. Two-hundred of those patients were being treated in intensive care, up from 188 a day earlier.
The hospital number has been on a steady climb over the past several weeks, far surpassing the roughly 550 patients reported in late November. The rise has shadowed a dramatic increase in daily COVID case numbers, which surpassed 11,000 on Saturday.
Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer warned last week that if infections continue such a dramatic rise, the daily case number could top 20,000 by the new year, its highest level of the pandemic. She also said data show that unvaccinated people are 21 times more likely to be hospitalized than vaccinated people.
Los Angeles County reported 8,891 new cases of COVID-19 and seven additional deaths on Sunday, with the numbers likely artificially low due to standard reporting delays from the weekend. The county has logged 1,616,033 cases of COVID-19 and 27,546 fatalities associated with the virus since the pandemic began.
Officials have said about 90% of the deaths occurred in people who had underlying health conditions. The most common conditions are hypertension, diabetes and heart disease.
Fueled by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, the seven-day average daily rate of people testing positive for the virus rose to 10.8% as of Sunday, more than triple the county's rate from a week ago, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
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