New Year Brings 45,000 COVID Cases To Los Angeles County

LOS ANGELES, CA — Los Angeles County reported nearly 45,000 new cases of COVID-19 over the weekend with one in five tests coming back positive for the coronavirus.

The sheer number of daily cases Saturday and Sunday dwarf the high during last winter's deadly surge despite the typical lag in reporting over a holiday weekend.

Officials reported 23,553 new cases for Saturday, and another 21,200 positive tests Sunday, after a one-day record of 27,091 new infections were reported Friday.

The county's COVID hospitalizations continued to rise in keeping with the rising caseload. Hospitalizations jumped by more than 150 for the second consecutive day Sunday. The number of COVID patients in county hospitals rose to 1,792, up from 1,628 on Saturday, according to the latest state figures. Of those patients, 263 were in intensive care, up from 246 the previous day.

The daily test positivity rate was 21.8% as of Sunday. With more than 1 in 5 tests coming back positive and most people spreading COVID one to two days before their symptoms even appear, wearing a well-fitting mask and getting vaccinated with a booster are shot are the best way to stay safe during this surge, county health officials said.

"Although masks can be annoying and even uncomfortable for some, given that many infected individuals are spreading COVID 1-2 days before they are symptomatic, the physical barrier tendered by a mask is known to reduce the spread of virus particles," said County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer.

Evidence suggests that only those who have recently completed their vaccination series or are boosted have significant protection from becoming infected with the highly contagious Omicron variant, according to Public Health officials.

Four additional deaths related to the coronavirus were also logged this weekend, two each on Saturday and Sunday.

The latest numbers bring the county's cumulative totals to 1,741,292 cases and 27,640 deaths since the pandemic began, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

Health officials continued to urge residents to curtail higher-risk activities, including indoor activities where individuals are unmasked for long periods of time, as well as crowded outdoor events.

"We hope that by working together to implement essential public health safety measures, we can stay safe, protect those we love, and keep our schools and businesses open," Ferrer said. "During this surge, given the spread of a more infectious strain of the virus, lapses can lead to explosive transmission. Well-fitting and high-quality masks are an essential layer of protection when people are in close contact with others, especially when indoors or in outdoor crowded spaces where distancing is not possible.

"The days ahead will be extraordinarily challenging for all us as we face extraordinarily high case numbers reflecting widespread transmission of the virus. In order to make sure that people are able to work and attend school, we all need to act responsibly," Ferrer said late last week.

She also noted that overall, COVID death rates have remained relatively flat in the county, despite the dramatic surge in infections, but she said that could change.

"Deaths, fortunately, remain low and they haven't changed, but this is because we're only about a week out from when our hospitalizations started rising," she said.

Officials have said about 90% of the COVID deaths during the pandemic occurred in people who had underlying health conditions. The most common conditions are hypertension, diabetes and heart disease.

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