LA County officials consider tougher COVID-19 restrictions amid growing concern about the more contagious UK variant taking hold here.
"We are considering all options at this point," says Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer.
"We are very, very worried about the continued high number of cases here. And feel like there really is not a huge window here to try to get the surge under control both in terms of the devastating impact it has on hospitals and on human life. But also I think, our public health department, like many others, is really following very closely what's been happening over in the United Kingdom with the rapid spread of a variant that is more infectious," Ferrer says.
Researchers don't think the UK variant makes people sicker. And there's no evidence it's in LA County yet. But officials believe it's just a matter of time and they want to get as many people as possible vaccinated before it hits.
COVID-related hospitalizations have stabilized but at very high levels that officials say are "not sustainable."
Dr. Christina Ghaly, the county's health services director, says "This high plateau does not leave enough open beds to care for patients without COVID and it does not still allow us to be prepared for an additional onslaught of patients that may present over the next couple of weeks in a potential post-holiday surge."
Given that the county's been reporting huge numbers of new cases and that about one in ten people who test positive end up being hospitalized, another wave of patients is expected soon.
It's now estimated that about one in three county residents have had COVID-19. And about one in every 115 residents is currently infectious.