Over 2,000 people currently hospitalized
By Sam Catanzaro
The Los Angeles County reported Wednesday the highest number of new COVID-19 hospitalizations as the county’s lead health official said a new stay-at-home order is “not off the table”.
On Wednesday the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) confirmed 2,193 confirmed COVID-19 cases, surpassing Tuesday’s number
Of those currently hospitalized, 26 percent of these people are in the ICU and 17 percent are on ventilators. The three-day average for people hospitalized is 2,084, more than at any point during the pandemic.
Data shows younger people between the ages of 18 and 40 years old are being hospitalized at a higher rate than seen before, according to Public Health.
On Wednesday Public Health confirmed 44 new deaths and 2,758 new cases of COVID-19.
At the beginning of June, the 7-day average of new cases was 1,452. Now the 7-day average is 2,859 new cases a day. This is double the rate from six weeks ago and higher than any point during this entire pandemic.
“We are in an alarming and dangerous phase in this pandemic here in Los Angeles County, along with other counties in this state. We need to protect the capacity in our healthcare system so that we’re all able to access critical care if we need it. Everyone must help. Business owners and operators have a responsibility to their employees and their families to provide a safe work environment that adheres to all of the health officer directives — this responsibility is important, now more than ever, as we continue our response to this deadly virus,” said Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer.
At a press conference Wednesday, Ferrer was asked if Los Angeles County planned on implementing a new stay-at-home order and responded by saying such action is not off the table.
“We can’t take anything off the table. We have to do everything we can to protect the health care system. Do we want to go back to a Safer-At home order? Absolutely not,” Ferrer said.
As of Wednesday, Public Health has identified 143,009 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of LA County, and a total of 3,932 deaths. In Santa Monica, there have been 521 cases and 36 deaths.
