Post-Christmas Bump: Los Angeles Covid Numbers Rising Rapidly With Most At Or Exceeding Recent Highs

30.12.2022 - 04:37 / deadline.com

Covid numbers in Los Angeles County have risen across the board in the days since Christmas, with cases, hospitalizations and deaths all nearing or exceeding recent highs.

The county Department of Public Health reported 3,968 new cases, along with 1,269 additional virus-related hospitalizations and 25 more Covid-related deaths. The actual number of cases is thought to be much higher given that many people now use at-home test kits, the results of which go unreported.

Thursday’s daily case number represented a jump of 1,830 from Wednesday, while hospitalizations increased by 74 day over day. The 25 virus-related deaths reported Thursday were four more than Wednesday’s total.

Possibly the most concerning metric is Thursday’s seven-day daily average of positive tests at 15.6%. That’s up from under 10% two weeks ago, quite a jump for a number that is averaged over seven days to smooth out blips in the data.

County health director Barbara Ferrer during a briefing Thursday urged continued vigilance against the spread of the virus during holiday gatherings.

“I do want to wish everyone a Happy New Year, and more than anything, a safe and healthy new year,” she said.

Ferrer also reported that “This past week there was an average of 192 [hospital] admissions per day, and that’s a slight increase from the 178 admissions per day one week ago.”

She continued: “In mid-November, reported deaths and hospitalizations were about 50 percent of the current count, and Covid hospital admissions are still well above the peak of the summer surge.”

City News Service contributed to this report.