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LOS ANGELES – COVID-19 continued its relentless surge across Los Angeles County Tuesday, with health officials reporting a record-setting daily number of new infections and a pandemic-high level of hospitalized patients, possibly setting the stage for a state-mandated stay-at-home order.<\/p>\n
The county Department of Public Health announced 7,593 new COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, topping the previous daily record of 6,124 set just last week. Health officials stressed that increased testing is not the cause of the spike, noting that the average daily rate of people testing positive for the coronavirus is now nearly 12%, up from 7% a week ago and about 4% a month ago.<\/p>\n
A total of 2,316 people were reported to be hospitalized due to the virus, topping the previous peak level of 2,232 set in July. Health officials have warned over the past week that hospital numbers will continue to rise in conjunction with the increase in cases, potentially gobbling up normally available hospital space by Christmas.<\/p>\n
County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer warned that although Tuesday is the worst day of the pandemic so far, things will worsen “tomorrow and the next day and the next.”<\/p>\n
“Every resident and every business needs to take immediate action if we are to dampen this alarming surge,” Ferrer said in a statement. “We are in the middle of an accelerating surge in a pandemic of huge magnitude. This is not the time to skirt or debate the safety measures that protect us because we need every single person to use every tool available to stop the surge and save lives.”<\/p>\n
The county on Monday implemented tightened restrictions that bar all gatherings of people from multiple households and set strict capacity limits on businesses and recreation venues. Those restrictions followed last week’s cutoff of in-person dining at restaurants, a move that was met with vocal criticism from business owners, diners and some elected officials.<\/p>\n
But as tough as those restrictions were to swallow for some, even tighter regulations could soon be handed down from the state. Gov. Gavin Newsom warned Monday that he could be issuing a sweeping stay-at-home order — on the magnitude of the one imposed at the start of the pandemic in March — in hard- hit counties to prevent hospitals from being overrun.<\/p>\n
It was unclear how extensive that order might be, but it could potentially shutter all non-essential businesses and allow residents to leave their homes only to obtain essential goods.<\/p>\n