L.A. County Surpasses 10,000 COVID-19 Deaths

A record number of COVID-19 deaths pushed Los Angeles County’s total death toll from the virus beyond 10,000, as Pasadena saw 124 new infections and state officials confirmed the first detection of a new, apparently extra-contagious strain of the virus in San Diego County.

Pasadena also saw one additional death reported Wednesday, city spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said. The person was described as a resident of the general community. No further information was available.

In total, Pasadena has recorded 6,654 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 157 fatalities.

Huntington Hospital reported treating 192 patients on Wednesday, down from a pandemic peak of 198 on Tuesday. Thirty-two of the patients were being treated in intensive care units.

While health officials have been imploring members of the public not to gather for New Year’s, past holidays have consistently taught them to expect a significant spike in infections, hospitalizations and deaths afterward as the warnings go unheeded.

“Unfortunately, given the amount of travel and holiday intermingling that may be happening over this winter holiday, we all need to be prepared for another surge that will start with even higher case numbers in January,” according to L.A. County Director of Public Health Barabra Ferrer.

“I want to again urge everyone recently returning or coming to Los Angeles County from outside the greater Southern California region — whether you just went to visit family in another state or took a trip north of here — to quarantine at home for a minimum of 10 days. This is required for everyone who traveled for leisure or recreation.”

The L.A. County Department of Public Health reported an all-time high of 274 new fatalities on Wednesday, bringing the total since the start of the pandemic to 10,056. Some of the new cases and deaths were attributed to backlogged data.

Officials also reported 10,392 new infections, bringing the overall tally to 756,116.

The population of COVID-19 patients hospitalized throughout the county continued to swell, as well, reaching a record number of 7,415, according to county officials. With 20% of them being treated in ICUs.

“Two months ago, L.A. County experienced around 1,200 cases a day,” the L.A. County Department of Public Health said in a written statement. “This past week, we have averaged 13,000 new cases each day; this represents a tenfold increase in daily cases in just two months — a number that is staggering.”

“Public Health notes that while the number of new cases reported this week are expected to be lower due mostly to testing centers being closed on Christmas and Christmas Eve, cases are expected to increase based on holiday travels,” the statement added.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday that the state’s first case of a new mutation of COVID-19 first found in the U.K. had been detected in San Diego County. Two additional cases in the U.S. have been reported, both in Colorado.

“The affected individual has no known travel history,” the California Department of Public Health said in a written statement. “Information about possible sources of infection is still being collected.”

Known as strain B.1.1.7 or VOC 202012/01, “Early data suggest that the United Kingdom variant strain may be more contagious but does not appear to be more severe,” the statement said. “According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the COVID-19 vaccines should provide immunity to this strain.”

California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said the development was “concerning.”

“As we learn more about how this patient contracted this strain, I want to stress the importance of continuing our mitigation efforts to prevent COVID-19 and this new strain,” he said. “This includes masks, physical distance, and during this current surge in California, staying at home and not mixing outside households, and not traveling.”

Additional detections of the new strain in the U.S. were expected in the near future, CDPH officials said.

State health officials reported 30,921 new infections and 432 deaths on Wednesday, bringing the statewide totals to 2,218,142 known cases of COVID-19 and 24,958 deaths.

The state’s average positivity rate over the prior week dipped slightly to 11.8%, and the 14-day average was 12.2%, according to the CDPH.

As of Wednesday, L.A. County accounted for 34% of California’s total COVID-19 infections and 40% of the state’s fatalities.