Los Angeles County reported nearly 3,000 new COVID- 19 infections from a three-day period that ended Monday, Nov. 7, along with 16 new virus-related deaths.
The county Department of Public Health logged 1,294 new infections from Saturday, 1,030 from Sunday and 654 for Monday. The new cases lifted the county’s overall total from throughout the pandemic to 3,496,108. The numbers reflect only cases that were reported to the county and do not include at-home tests, the results of which are not always relayed to authorities. The 16 new fatalities from the three-day period gave the county a cumulative virus-related death toll of 34,015.
County officials no longer report COVID numbers on weekends.
The seven-day average daily rate of people testing positive for the virus was 5% as of Monday, according to the county. An update was not immediately available on the number of COVID- positive patients in Los Angeles County hospitals. On Saturday, state figures showed 453 such patients hospitalized in the county, with 44 of them being treated in intensive care. County health officials last week noted some slight increases in virus- tracking metrics, including the average daily case numbers. Combined with an earlier-than-usual flu season, health officials have been urging residents to get vaccinated against COVID and influenza.
“With recent unusually high levels of flu and other respiratory diseases, there are signs the county could be headed toward a COVID surge this fall and winter,” county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said Friday. “As families are about to start their holiday travel and get-togethers, it continues to be important to follow simple steps to prevent respiratory illness and COVID-19. The first, and most important, health measure we can take is to receive the new COVID-19 bivalent booster if we are at least two moths out from our last dose.”
The seven-day average daily number of infections rose by 10% over the past week, according to the county Department of Public Health, jumping from 988 new cases per day to 1,083.
According to the county, while 85% of residents aged 5 and older have received their initial COVID vaccinations, only 11% of those eligible have taken advantage of the new bivalent booster, which is designed to combat the currently circulating Omicron variants of the virus.
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