LOS ANGELES – With a holiday weekend upon us, Los Angeles County health officials are urging residents to mark Memorial Day with caution to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The urging came amid rising infection numbers and steadily increasing virus-related hospitalization figures. The county reported 5,800 new cases and eight more COVID-related deaths Friday, raising the cumulative totals from throughout the pandemic to 2,961,673 and 32,117.
The average daily rate of people testing positive for the virus was 4.3% as of Friday, up from 4.1% Thursday.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health does not report COVID data on weekends.
Meanwhile, the number of COVID-positive patients in Los Angeles County hospitals rose by nine people to 464, according to the latest state figures on Saturday. The number of those patients being treated in intensive care was 56, up from 55 on Friday.
Health officials have noted that many COVID-positive patients were admitted to hospitals for reasons other than the virus. But Ferrer said Thursday those patients still require advanced levels of care that put added stress on hospitals.
LA County officials announced Thursday that increasing case numbers across the county have led to a rise in virus outbreaks at skilled nursing facilities, prompting some tighter infection-control measures.
Staff at nursing facilities are now required to wear N95-level masks at all times and undergo twice-weekly testing, while residents must undergo weekly testing. All communal dining has also been halted, and all non-essential indoor group activities are being paused.
Los Angeles County remains in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “medium” category of virus activity. Under CDC guidelines, counties in the “medium” category will move to “high” if the rate of new virus-related hospital admissions reaches 10 per 100,000 residents, or if 10% of the county’s staffed hospital beds are occupied by COVID-positive patients.
The county’s current rate of virus-related hospital admissions is now 4.5 per 100,000 — double the rate from a month ago — and the rate of staffed beds occupied by COVID patients is currently 2.3%.
