L.A. County Reports 535 New Cases of COVID-19 as Looser Restrictions Near

The county’s metrics continued to trend in the right direction Sunday, as 535 new cases of COVID-19 and just three additional deaths were reported, although health officials said the lower number of deaths may reflect reporting delays over the weekend.

The number of coronavirus patients in county hospitals ticked up from 590 on Saturday to 591, according to state figures. The number of those patients in intensive care dropped from 158 to 151.

Sunday’s numbers brought the county’s totals to 1,222,114 cases and 23,275 fatalities since the pandemic began, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

The health department also continues tracking cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), and has identified 158 children with MIS-C in L.A. County including one child death, the department said Saturday. All 158 were hospitalized and 40% of the children were treated in an ICU.

MIS-C is a serious inflammatory condition associated with COVID-19 that affects children under 21 years old. Symptoms include fever that does not go away and inflamed body parts, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs.

Amid declining overall COVID-19 numbers, county health officials continue to urge residents to take precautions, acknowledging what could be seen as mixed messaging about the state of the pandemic.

“The declining number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 is a very encouraging trend and reflects the significant decrease in community transmission we experienced a few weeks back,” county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said Saturday.

“We will continue to make progress slowing transmission, preventing suffering, and saving lives when we all do our part to keep each other safe by following the rules and getting vaccinated when it is our turn,” Ferrer said.

“If you have COVID-19 symptoms, recently traveled out of state, were in crowds in close proximity to unmasked individuals, or attended large gatherings, please get tested. Don’t take a chance on spreading this virus to others,” said Ferrer.