City Reports 82 New COVID-19 Cases Tuesday In Throwback to Large Daily Count Not Seen For Almost a Year

With a rising tide of new coronavirus infections sweeping across the United States, an official in Pasadena on Tuesday reported a jump in local daily case numbers to a level not seen since late January.

“There were 82 cases. This includes 75 new confirmed cases, 7 new probable cases, and 4 older probable cases that converted to confirmed,” city spokesperson Lisa Derderian said.

The last time Pasadena had a daily case count in this range was on January 25, 2021, according to the city’s COVID -19 dashboard.

Pasadena’s 7-day average as of Tuesday was 42.4, Derderian said.

She also reported that an unvaccinated Latino man in his late 60s who resided in Pasadena died from causes relating to COVID-19. This brought Pasadena’s death toll from the pandemic to 370 residents.

According to state figures, there were 748 COVID-positive patients in Los Angeles County hospitals as of Tuesday, up from 741 on Monday. There were 174 of those patients being treated in intensive care, up from 172 a day earlier.

The number of Omicron variant cases identified in the county rose above 100 on Tuesday, while the county’s daily number of newly confirmed infections topped 3,000 for the fifth consecutive day.

The county reported 3,052 new cases, raising the cumulative total from throughout the pandemic to 1,570,230. Another 25 virus-related deaths were also confirmed, for a pandemic total of 27,473.

Local businesses and organizations are looking hard at New Year’s Eve plans in light of the surge.

The Huntington Library announced on Monday it was canceling its New Year’s Even festivities due to increasing concerns surrounding COVID-19. The cancelation was “heartbreaking news,” a spokesperson said, because the featured performers “had worked tirelessly to create a bright musical celebration that would bring people together and send us into 2022 on a high note.”

In Los Angeles, several large-scale public events like the New Year’s Eve celebration at Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles and the 62nd annual LA Holiday Celebration were either canceled or scaled back to eliminate live audiences.

No plans have changed with regards to the Rose Parade or the Rose Bowl Game.

The Tournament of Roses said in a statement on Tuesday morning plans are still on for the parade and the game.

“At the present time, we fully expect the Rose Parade and the Rose Bowl Game to be held as scheduled on New Year’s Day, 2022 in beautiful Pasadena, California,” the statement said.

The Tournament is currently monitoring rising COVID-19 infection rates very closely, according to the statement.

Tournament officials said the health and well-being of its parade participants and guests, as well as that of volunteer members, professional staff and partners, “remains our number one priority.”