LOS ANGELES (KNX) — Los Angeles County public health officials reported a record 37,215 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, along with 30 new deaths and 2,661 hospitalizations, according to updates shared by Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer.
The newly released number of new cases is up more than 10,000 cases from what was reported last Friday, Ferrer said, explaining that the trend is the same across the United States — with New York City experiencing the highest daily case rate.
"Cases have risen steeply, from about 27,000 cases a day on New Year's Eve to today now 37,215 new cases," Ferrer said, adding that the hospitalizations have also consistently been on the rise.
Ferrer went on to share details about hospitalized patients, saying that last November many COVID-19 patients were in the hospital because of virus-related illness but that many patients hospitalized now were there for reasons other than the virus and found out they had COVID while there.
She used that information to transition to the news that as early as last July, nearly 1,000 cases of COVID-19 reported were Delta Variant cases. That number grew into fall 2021, dipped lower into winter 2021 and is now predominantly cases realted to the Omicron variant, Ferrer said.
"Last week Omicron comprised more than 85% of the sequenced cases while Delta comprised the rest," Ferrer said. "This dramatic decrease in the overall number of Delta cases over a really short period of time suggests that Omicron is crowding out Delta here in L.A. County."
Vaccines remain to be the best defense against COVID-19 Ferrer said, as she shared that virus infections are highest among those who are not vaccinated and those who are not yet fully vaccinated or boosted.
As of Saturday there more than 6.4 million fully vaccinated people in L.A. County. Among them 199,314 have tested positive for COVID-19, 3,348 have been hospitalized and 625 have died, Ferrer said.
During her presentation, she went on to say that, in order to keep workplaces and schools open, everyone must remain cautious — upgrading masks, keeping distanced and avoiding large groups of people when possible.
Ferrer also reiterated new guidelines shared by the Department of Public Health Wednesday, which require all employers in the County to begin providing medical-grade masks to employees by no later than Jan. 17.
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