County Reports 5,925 New Cases of COVID-19

Los Angeles County health officials reported 5,925 new cases of COVID-19 and 124 additional deaths today, bringing the county’s totals to 1,116,892 cases and 16,770 fatalities.

The county’s COVID-19 hospitalization rate continues to decline, with 5,328 coronavirus patients hospitalized as of Sunday, down from 5,669 the day before, with 27% of those patients in intensive care units.

The county’s hospitalization rate has been dropping steadily since it peaked at more than 8,000 in early January.

The latest numbers came one day after health officials confirmed the second local case of the COVID-19 variant, B.1.1.7, first discovered in the United Kingdom, and four additional cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C).

The B.1.1.7 specimen, submitted by a clinical facility, was sequenced as part of routine surveillance by the county’s Public Health Laboratory. The first confirmed case of B.1.1.7 was logged on Jan. 16, according to the L.A. County Department of Public Health.

Officials believe the B.1.1.7 and other variants are already spreading in the county, and they are continuing to test samples. B.1.1.7 is considered more contagious, but not necessarily more deadly than the original strain of COVID-19.

The four additional cases of MIS-C bring the total number in the county to 66 children, including one child death. All 66 children with MIS-C in L.A. County were hospitalized and 44% of the children were treated in ICUs.

Of the 66, 32% were under the age of 5, 38% were between the ages of 5 and 11, and 30% were between the ages of 12 and 20.

Latino children account for nearly 74% of the reported cases, the department said.

MIS-C is an inflammatory condition associated with COVID-19. Symptoms include fever that does not go away and inflamed body parts, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, and gastrointestinal organs.

Meanwhile, some elected officials were condemning the actions of anti-vaccination protesters who caused a brief disruption at Los Angeles County’s COVID-19 vaccination site at Dodger Stadium on Saturday.

The Los Angeles Fire Department closed the gates from 1:50 to 2:45 p.m. Saturday to keep protesters out, according to LAFD Firefighter David Ortiz.

The Los Angeles Police Department estimated there were about 50 protesters. The group was expressing opposition to both the vaccine and government shutdown orders, with some calling the entire coronavirus pandemic a hoax.

L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis condemned the actions of what she called maskless anti-vaccine protesters.

“What they did today amounts to intentional sabotage of an effort to keep our community healthy and get ahead of alarming variants making their way into Los Angeles County,” Solis tweeted.

Los Angeles City Councilman Kevin de Leon called what occurred at Dodger Stadium “intimidation, not protests.”’

“Anyone obstructing vaccinations must be held accountable,” de Leon tweeted.

No arrests were reported, and officials said everyone who showed up with an appointment for a vaccine was able to get one.