COVID-19 Deaths Decline, But Infections Trend Upward Across L.A. County

Documented COVID-19-related deaths have been trending downward throughout L.A. County in recent days, even as new cases of the virus increase, officials said.

Pasadena reported a single new infection and no new deaths in the city on Monday, although city spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said statistics on Mondays can lag behind due to the weekend.

In all, the Pasadena Public Health Department has recorded 2,846 infections and 129 deaths, with the last fatality reported on Oct. 8, according to city data. Over the prior seven days, the city has seen an average of 10.9 new daily cases.

Huntington Hospital reported treating 25 COVID-19 patients on Monday.

But while recent numbers have been encouraging, Derderian said several factors had public health officials on alert.

For one, the potential impact of a flu season coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic remained uncertain, prompting worries from officials of potential coinfections and the overloading of the medical system.

Additionally, with the holidays fast approaching, officials were worried that more generations of families coming together under the same roofs could prompt an uptick in infections for everyone, but especially the most vulnerable, Derderian said.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health announced 1,406 new COVID-19 infections and two fatalities on Monday but cautioned that the low fatality figure was impacted by a weekend reporting lag.

County health officials had documented a total of 310,595 infections and 7,076 deaths, the agency said in a written statement.

“The 7-day average number of cases by episode date continues to rise,” the statement said. “Cases have increased from around 940 new cases per day in early October to more than 1,275 new cases per day last week.”

The increase in cases appeared to correlate with an increase in gatherings, which public health officials have repeatedly urged the public to avoid, officials said.

“With our cases already increasing, we are concerned about the coming months,” L.A. County Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer said. “Holiday gatherings and cooler weather where people are more likely to gather indoors are perfect conditions for spreading COVID-19. 

“While it is easy to believe that the virus won’t spread among your friends and family, there are so many examples that prove otherwise,” she said. “Unfortunately, with just one infected person at a well-intentioned gathering, dozens and dozens of people can become infected over weeks and weeks of virus transmission. Some people will become seriously ill, and some may even die.”

County officials reported 777 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 countywide on Monday, with 29 percent of them being treated in intensive care units.

At the state level, authorities reported 4,094 new infections and five additional deaths. The cases included ones backlogged from prior days.

Since the start of the pandemic, a total of 930,628 infections and 17,672 deaths have been reported in the state.

The average statewide positivity rate over the prior seven days was 3.2 percent, the California Department of Public Health said in a written statement. The 14-day average was also 3.2 percent.

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