3,730 new cases: LA County’s COVID surge continues

Los Angeles County reported 3,730 caller cases of COVID-19 connected Saturday, Dec. 18, and 21 further deaths associated with the microorganism — the 2nd consecutive time that saw much than 3,000 caller cases aft months of little totals.

Saturday’s numbers travel 1 time aft section wellness officials reported 3,360 caller cases of COVID-19 and 8 much confirmed cases of the Omicron variant amid stepped-up efforts to combat the pandemic, including caller rules for attending ample events.

In a tiny spot of bully news, the fig of Los Angeles County residents hospitalized with COVID-19 fell by 7 to 742 Saturday, with 180 of those patients successful intensive care, down 2 from Friday’s totals, according to the latest authorities figures.

The region had 772 COVID patients connected Thursday.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has logged 1,560,377 cases of COVID-19 and 27,432 fatalities since the pandemic began.

As of Friday, anyone attending indoor oregon outdoor mega-events successful the region who cannot supply impervious of afloat vaccination was required to supply impervious of a antagonistic COVID trial wrong 1 time (if antigen test) oregon 2 days (if PCR test) of the event.

Children nether property 2 are exempt from the regularisation for indoor events, and children nether 5 are exempt for outdoor events. This is simply a alteration from the erstwhile wellness order, which required impervious of a antagonistic trial wrong 72 hours.

The region defines mega-events arsenic indoor gatherings of much than 1,000 radical oregon outdoor events of much than 10,000 people.

The caller Omicron cases brought the county’s confirmed full to 38. Of the 8 cases reported Friday, 5 radical were afloat vaccinated and 1 received a booster. One idiosyncratic reported planetary question and 1 idiosyncratic reported home travel, according to the wellness department.

Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said Thursday determination is nary grounds to suggest the caller variant causes much terrible symptoms than erstwhile versions, but it is much transmissible than different variants.

“Based connected the information collected to date, we expect that Omicron volition circulate much wide successful L.A. County successful the precise adjacent future, starring to galore much cases implicit a abbreviated play of time, peculiarly fixed accrued gatherings with question implicit the wintertime holiday,” Ferrer said.

“Unvaccinated individuals look to stay astatine the highest risk, but each the grounds to day indicates that those afloat vaccinated are besides astatine accrued risk, peculiarly for getting infected and infecting others.”

Officials noted Thursday’s enactment by an advisory sheet to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which unanimously voted to springiness a preferential proposal to mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna implicit the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine owed to uncommon but superior humor clots associated with the latter.

Dr. Isaac See of the CDC said wellness officials person confirmed 54 cases of the humor clots — 9 of which person been fatal — and 2 further deaths suspected to beryllium related to the humor clotting issue.

L.A. County officials accidental that arsenic of Dec. 12, implicit 530,000 residents person received a dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

“We punctual residents that L.A. County’s proviso of mRNA vaccines is abundant and that erstwhile it is clip to get a booster dose, individuals antecedently vaccinated with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should see boosters with Pfizer oregon Moderna,” the wellness section said Friday.

“We admit the CDC’s guidance connected vaccine choice,” Ferrer said. “While immoderate vaccine is amended than nary vaccine, we impulse those who person received Johnson and Johnson vaccines to get booster doses of Pfizer oregon Moderna vaccines to guarantee they are good protected from some suffering terrible COVID outcomes.”

The county’s wellness section besides said Friday that compliance with mask-wearing mandates successful the nationalist and concern assemblage was high, and credited the signifier with keeping transmission debased successful nationalist schools. With much than 1.55 cardinal students crossed 3,000 L.A. County schools, officials said they are routinely seeing less than a twelve outbreaks each week.

And retired of much than 1,500 tract visits conducted from Dec. 4-10, the immense bulk of businesses and industries, including restaurants, bars, nutrient markets and hairsbreadth salons, had masking compliance rates supra 95%.