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One day after the anniversary of the world’s first reported death caused by COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, Pasadena added eight more people to the city’s coronavirus death toll.
Three of the recent deaths involved residents of care facilities, but the other five did not, said city Public Information Officer Lisa Derderian.
Tuesday’s numbers represented the most COVID-19 deaths seen in Pasadena since Dec. 31, when a record 10 fatalities were reported, according to city data. Tuesday tied with April 30 as the second-deadliest day of the pandemic.
195 new infections were announced by Pasadena health authorities.
The city saw its largest single-day tally of new infections on Jan. 5, when 253 cases of the virus were detected.
All told, Pasadena has documented 184 deaths and 8,708 infections.
Huntington Hospital reported handling 207 COVID-19 patients on Tuesday, including 44 who were being treated in intensive care units.
Los Angeles County public health officials reported 11,994 new infections and 288 additional deaths on Tuesday.
In all, the county has recorded a total of 944,319 cases of COVID-19 and 12,674 deaths, according to the L.A. County Department of Public Health.
“The county is experiencing horrific loss of life due to COVID-19,” the agency said in a written statement. “Over the last seven days, 1,606 people lost their lives and this is an average of nearly 230 deaths per day.”
Just more than 7,900 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized in the county as of Tuesday, with 22% of them being treated in ICUs, according to the county statement. “While the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 each day has stabilized over the last few days at slightly under 8,000 patients, the demand on our healthcare system and hospitals remains overwhelming.”
L.A. County’s overall positivity rate climbed to 18%, with over 5 million tests administered, officials said.
Once again, L.A. County Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer implored people to alter their behavior to stem the spread.
“Please do not underestimate this virus or let your drive to interact in person with friends outweigh following the safety measures that are put in place to save lives,” she said.
“Like many residents, I am cheering for the Rams in the playoffs and grateful to be able to watch basketball games again, but we cannot make the same mistakes we did last year,” Ferrer added. “There were far too many gatherings, viewing parties, and celebrations with others that contributed to increased cases; the outcome will be disastrous to our healthcare system if we don’t follow the rules.”
The state reached a grim milestone as 548 fatalities pushed the statewide death toll to 40,513, according to the California Department of Public Health.
State officials also reported 36,487new infections on Tuesday, raising the total to 2,747,388.
The state’s average positivity rate over the prior 14 days reached 13.5%.
As of Tuesday, L.A. County accounted for 34% of California COVID-19 infections and 42% of the state’s deaths.
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