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LOS ANGELES – The continuing surge in COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles County will inevitably lead to more hospitalizations and potentially deaths, health officials warned Thursday, adding that if numbers persist upward, the county may be forced to impose more restrictions on public activity.<\/p>\n
“If collectively we fail to stop the acceleration of new cases, we will have no choice but to look at additional actions,” county public health director Barbara Ferrer said. “All around the country, elected officials and public health leaders are introducing new requirements to protect health care systems from becoming overwhelmed.”<\/p>\n
“We’ve been there before, just four months ago, and we worked really hard to get ourselves back to a place where our health was protected and our recovery journey could continue, and I know none of us wants to step back,” Ferrer added. “Which leaves us with one option, and that is to make good choices that reflect the reality of living during a pandemic.”<\/p>\n
The admonition came on a day the county reported another 2,533 new cases of the coronavirus, lifting the cumulative total in the county to 330,050. Ferrer noted that on Oct. 3, the county was averaging 988 new cases per day, but as of last week, the average rose to 1,464.<\/p>\n
“Simply put, this is more than a 33% increase in daily cases, and we have seen no recent signs of any decreases in our case numbers,” she said.<\/p>\n
The county’s recent testing-positivity rate is also on the rise, going from a seven-day daily average of 3.6% in early October to 4.4% last week, to 5.9% as of Thursday. Hospitalizations are also increasing, with 953 coronavirus patients as of Thursday, marking two straight days over 900.<\/p>\n
The one metric that has not yet increased is the number of average deaths, which stands at 10, the “lowest since the early days of the pandemic,” Ferrer said.<\/p>\n
“Unfortunately the continued decrease in deaths is likely to not continue, since we know increases in cases and hospitalizations will actually influence the number of deaths we experience here in the county, and it is likely in the weeks to come that our numbers of deaths will increase as well,” she said.<\/p>\n