LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles County health officials Monday reported 15,413 new cases of COVID-19 and 18 additional deaths linked to the virus over the three-day Fourth of July weekend.
The county Department of Public Health reported 5,865 cases for Saturday, 6,020 cases for Sunday and 3,528 cases for Monday. Ten of the fatalities were reported for Saturday, five for Sunday and three for Monday.
The latest figures bring the county’s cumulative totals to 3,140,615 cases and 32,361 deaths since the pandemic began. A majority of the deaths occurred in people with at least one underlying health condition, mainly hypertension, diabetes and heart disease.
The county’s daily test positivity rate, on a seven-day average, was 13.7% as of Monday, up from 12.2% last Tuesday.
The latest hospitalization numbers were unavailable due to delays in reports from the state health department, but as of Saturday there were 810 COVID-positive patients in county hospitals, with 91 being treated in intensive care.
Amid the rising transmission and elevated hospitalization numbers, Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer had urged caution against the spread of COVID-19 during the Fourth of July, when many people are likely to attend parties or large gatherings.
