COVID-19 Cases Remain Lowered, But Officials Warn Surge May Still Be to Come

Pasadena hela officials reported six new COVID-19 infections and no new deaths on Wednesday, as officials waited to see whether a predicted post-Labor Day weekend viral surge would materialize.

“We continue to see a lower count of cases than what we were expecting after the Labor Day weekend,” city spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said.

Tuesday marked nine days since Labor Day, and 11 days since the preceding Saturday, which kicked off the three-day weekend.

Public health officials have warned that during past holiday weekends amid the pandemic, spikes were seen 10 to 14 days later.

The possibility that a spike is yet to materialize in the coming days remains, “but we’re hoping we don’t get an increase and maintain our low numbers,” she said.

Pasadena average new infections detected daily over the previous week had dropped to 4.6, city data shows.

The city’s total infections had reached 2,485, and the death toll stood at 121.

Huntington Hospital reported treating 30 COVID-19 patients on Wednesday, with 50 tests pending.

But hospital spokeswoman Dorey Huston said the increase did not reflect a sudden spike in suspected infections.

Patients are required to undergo COVID-19 screening before undergoing surgical procedures, she said. The figure primarily reflected patients with upcoming surgeries scheduled.

Los Angeles County public health officials reported 1,148 new detected infections and 31 additional fatalities on Wednesday, bringing the county’s totals to 256,148 COVID-19 cases and 6,303 deaths.

“The number of new cases has steadily decreased through August and September. Last week the average daily number of cases was 800, compared with over 2,000 just a month ago,” the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said in a written statement.

But the optimism came with a word of caution.

“Public Health will continue to watch this indicator closely because it may be artificially low due to reduced testing numbers seen over the last two weeks,” the statement added.

The county’s average positivity rate over the prior week had dropped to 3%, down from 5% in mid-August, officials said.

The county’s overall positivity rate remained at 10%, with more than 2.4 million tests administered.

The L.A. County Department of Public Health said 804 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in the county on Wednesday, with 30% of them being treated in intensive care units.

“We are hoping that over the Labor Day Holiday everyone continued to do their best to reduce transmission so we don’t experience another surge in hospitalizations a few weeks from now,” the county statement said.
The California Department of Public Health announced 2,950 new infections and 164 deaths on Wednesday.

The state had seen a total of 762,963 cases of COVID-19 and 14,615 fatalities since the start of the pandemic.

The state’s average positivity rate in the week prior, as well as the 14-day rate, were both at 3.6%, the CDPH said in a written statement.

As of Wednesday, L.A. County accounted for 34% of California’s COVID-19 diagnoses and 43% of the state’s fatalities.