LA County Hits All-Time High For New Coronavirus Cases

LOS ANGELES, CA — Los Angeles County on Thursday confirmed the highest single-day total for new coronaviruses since the beginning of the outbreak. That the coronavirus is spreading faster in Los Angeles County since the easing of shutdown restrictions, isn’t a surprise to public health officials. The real question is: how bad will it get?

County health officials warn that local hospitals could run out of ICU beds within a month at the current rate, but there should be enough ventilators to meet demand.

The dismal new record comes two weeks after LA began reopening parks and businesses. Since then, the rate at which the average COVID-19 infected person spreads the disease to others jumped from one person to 1.5 people. Before the shutdown, the average COVID-19 patient spread the disease to more than three other people. As the county braces to reopen bars, gyms, zoos and museums, that rate could go up again. It all depends, say county health officials, on Angelenos' willingness to take precautions such as social distancing and wearing masks.

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On Thursday, Los Angeles County also reported another 46 deaths due to the coronavirus and 1,857 new cases. The 46 new deaths increased the county's total number of fatalities to 2,813.
While it was the largest single-day number of new cases announced by the county during the pandemic, health officials said roughly 600 of those cases were the result of a backlog in the reporting of test results.

To date, the county has confirmed a total of 68,875 cases of the virus.

County public health director Barbara Ferrer stressed Wednesday that the reopening of more business sectors should not be seen as an indication the county is out of the woods in terms of the coronavirus pandemic, noting, "We're still in the middle of the woods and we have a lot of risk."

She said it will remain important for residents to adhere to the health restrictions when visiting any reopened business, and for the businesses themselves to enforce them.

The county's medical services director, Dr. Christina Ghaly, said Wednesday the county has enough hospital beds to handle an increase in cases, but the higher infection rate could lead to a shortage of intensive-care beds within two to four weeks.

Ghaly said the county's modeling predicts "the spread of COVID-19 in the Los Angeles County area is likely to increase gradually over time." She stressed that the predictions are based solely on actual hospitalization numbers, not on the increasing numbers of people who are leaving their homes and interacting with the public at newly opened businesses or -- more recently - - massive protests against police brutality.

Of the people who have died from the virus, 93% had underlying health conditions, a percentage that has remained largely unchanged throughout the pandemic.

The new cases and deaths come one day ahead of a revised health order taking effect that will permit a wider array of businesses and attractions to reopen in Los Angeles County.

Under the new order, allowed to open beginning Friday will be:

• gyms and fitness centers;
• professional sports venues without live audiences;
• day camps;
• museums and galleries;
• zoos and aquariums;
• campgrounds and RV parks;
• outdoor recreation such as swimming pools;
• music, film and television production; and
• hotels for leisure travel.

Movie theaters are not included in the new order, even though the state has released protocols allowing them to reopen if individual counties approve.

County health officials noted that public-safety restrictions will be in place at all reopening businesses, including mandates for wearing face coverings and requiring social distancing.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.