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Pasadena saw 61 new COVID-19 infections and one new death on Wednesday as cases reported statewide reached an all-time high, authorities said.
Wednesday marked the third time in just over two weeks that Pasadena recorded more than 60 new infections, according to city data. Prior to Nov. 17, only one day during the entire pandemic saw more than 60 infections, which was May 20, when 80 new infections were detected.
Over the past several days, cases have been found across all age groups, with the biggest increases in the younger populations,” said city spokeswoman Lisa Derderian.
The new fatality was that of an 84-year-old woman living at a senior living home, Derderian said. She died on Sunday.
Since the onset of the pandemic, Pasadena health officials have documented 3,807 infections and 133 deaths.
Over the prior week, the city had experienced an average of 45 new COVID-19 cases daily, records show.
Officials at Huntington Hospital reported treating 65 COVID-19 patients on Wednesday.
Los Angeles County saw its highest-ever number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients on Wednesday at 2,349, according to the L.A. County Department of Public Health. Twenty-four percent of them were being treated in intensive care units.
“The average daily number of people hospitalized has increased 94 percent in just two weeks,” the agency said in a written statement.
County officials reported 5,987 new cases of novel coronavirus and 40 additional fatalities, raising the county’s totals to 414,185 infections and 7,740 deaths.
“Since early November, average daily cases have increased by 225 percent, and in the past week and a half we have seen this average jump to over 5,300 cases each day,” the county statement said.
L.A. County’s daily positivity rate has spiked to 13 percent, up from 3.9 percent on Nov. 1, officials said.
Deaths are also on the rise countywide. “Since Nov. 9, average daily deaths have increased 92 percent,” the statement said. “This past week, average daily COVID-19 deaths climbed to 38.”
L.A. County Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer described the increases as “terrifying.”
“This virus is relentless. It will continue to be relentless until we can vaccinate the millions of residents and workers calling L.A. County home. And while there is a bright light at the end of this very dark tunnel, we are not there yet. We are now at the worst point we have experienced thus far in this pandemic, and now is the time to take every single precaution to protect ourselves and others,” she said.
“Requirements and restrictions work in slowing the spread of the virus,” Ferrer said. “Please commit today and through the next few months to being the solution to this terrible pandemic.”
Public officials at the state level announced 20,759 new infections and 113 new deaths, shattering the state’s previous single-day record of 18,350 infections reported on Nov. 25.
In total, California has seen 1,245,948 cases of COVID-19 and 19,324 deaths, California Department of Public Health officials said.
The state’s average positivity rate over the prior weeks continued a steady climb, reaching 7.3 percent, according to a CDPH statement. The 14-day average was 6.9 percent.
As of Wednesday, Los Angeles County represented 33 percent of California’s total total COVID-19 infections and 40 percent of the state’s fatalities.
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