16 New COVID-19 Infections Detected in Pasadena as Newsom Pulls ‘Emergency Brake’ on State’s Reopening Protocol

Health officials in Pasadena reported 16 new COVID-19 infections Monday as California’s governor slammed the “emergency brake” on the state’s reopening protocol, reverting the vast majority of the state to the most restrictive tier under the “Blueprint for a Safer Economy.”

Pasadena’s total case count had grown to 3,099, but the virus’ death toll in the city remained at 129, with no fatalities reported since Oct. 8, according to city medical data.

Pasadena saw an average of 20.9 infections daily over the prior week.

Huntington Hospital officials reported treating 28 COVID-19 patients on Monday.

With COVID-19 surging statewide, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday announced he was “pulling an emergency brake” in the statewide reopening protocol, known as the Blueprint for a Safer Economy, the governor’s office said in a written statement.

Twenty-eight counties were to be placed into the Purple, or most restrictive, tier as of Tuesday, officials said. That would place more than 94 percent of the state’s population into the first tier, where Los Angeles County has remained since the beginning of the system.

“The state will reassess data continuously and move more counties back if necessary,” according to the statement. “California is also strengthening its face covering guidance to require individuals to wear a mask whenever outside their home, with limited exceptions.”

California’s daily cases had doubled over the past 10 days, Newsom said. State officials reported 9,890 new COVID-19 infections on Monday, pushing the total beyond 1,029,000. Ten new fatalities on Monday raised the state’s total death toll to 18,263.

“California is experiencing the fastest increase in cases we have seen yet — faster than what we experienced at the outset of the pandemic or even this summer. The spread of COVID-19, if left unchecked, could quickly overwhelm our health care system and lead to catastrophic outcomes,” Newsom said. “That is why we are pulling an emergency brake in the Blueprint for a Safer Economy. Now is the time to do all we can — government at all levels and Californians across the state — to flatten the curve again as we have done before.”

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health announced 2,795 new infections and six new deaths on Monday, bringing the countywide totals to 342,343 COVID-19 cases and 7,275 deaths.

“Over the weekend, Public Health reported a total of 6,841 new cases,” the agency said in a written statement. “The county has not experienced daily numbers like this since late July, during the last surge that resulted in many people becoming very seriously ill and losing their lives to COVID-19.”

“As COVID-19 cases surge and hospitalizations continue to rise here and across California, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health urges everyone to take immediate action to slow the spread of COVID-19 and to stay home as much as possible for the next two to three weeks except for accessing essential services,” the statement said.

Officials reported 1,049 patients being treated for the virus county-wide, with 28 percent of them being treated in intensive care units.

The situation was growing severe, said L.A. County Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer.

“Given our recent huge increases in daily cases and now hospitalizations, it is clear that L.A. County is at a very dangerous point in the pandemic. I ask every resident and business across the county to put slowing the spread of COVID-19 at the very top of mind, all day and every day,” Ferrer said.

“There is no path forward for our recovery until we get this pandemic back under control. A surge like the one we are experiencing is not inevitable because the weather is colder, or we are fatigued,” according to Ferrer. “There is light at the end of the tunnel with positive news about vaccines. We need to hang in together, make sure our actions are informed by the science and take care of each other.”

As of Monday, L.A. County represented 33 percent of California’s COVID-19 infections and 40 percent of the state’s fatalities.