Low COVID-19 Count in Pasadena Attributed to State Data Issue

Pasadena recorded 15 new COVID-19 infections and no new deaths on Monday, representing a major drop compared with recent days, but the number was believed to be the result of an issue with the state data reporting system, officials said.

A change in the state system was likely responsible for an artificially low number of new infections reported, city spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said. A jump in cases was expected Tuesday as the system catches up.

The new tallies raised Pasadena’s total documented COVID-19 infections to 4,822, according to city data. The local death toll stood at 139.

Prior to Monday’s apparent data issue, the city’s average daily cases over the prior week had begun a downturn, lowering to 87.1 on Sunday after reaching an all-time high of 94.4.

Huntington Hospital continued to report unprecedented levels of COVID-19 patients, with 120 patients being treated at the facility on Monday. Twenty-two of them, or about 18%, were being treated in 30 available intensive care units, for an available ICU capacity of 27%, Huntington Hospital President/CEO Lori Morgan.

Meanwhile, the ICU capacity rate across the 11-county Southern California region had dropped to 2.7%, according to the California Department of Public Health. An ICU capacity below 15% triggered the current regionally stay-at-home orders.

Los Angeles County Department of Public Health officials reported 7,344 additional COVID-19 infections and 7,344 new deaths on Monday, raising the county-wide totals to 532,730 cases of the virus and 8,345 deaths.

The county data included some backlogged cases from a single “large lab,” the agency said in a written statement.

“Since the beginning of the surge on November 1, cases have increased 625% with younger people continuing to drive the increase in community transmission in the county,” the statement said. “More than 70% of cases are from people under the age of 50 years old.”

HOspitalizations across L.A. County surpassed 4,200, officials said. Twenty-one percent of the COVID-19 patients were being treated in intensive care units.
“Since December 1, the County has surpassed previous all-time highs every day,” according to the county statement.

Although younger populations have been at the forefront of the surge, the elderly continue to see the highest rates of hospitalization, according to the L.A. County Department of Public Health.

“By next weekend, there are likely to be over 5,000 patients hospitalized and more than 50% of ICU beds occupied by COVID-19 patients,” the statement warned.

“Equally important” as available ICU beds are the staff necessary to operate them, according to the county.

“The recent surge in cases has resulted in huge increases in cases among our healthcare workers,” the statement said. “In the last two weeks there have been over 3,400 new cases among healthcare workers.”

As the first vaccines arrived in the county on Monday, L.A. County Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer thanked those who made it possible.

Distribution of the vaccine will take time, and vigilance remains necessary during the ongoing surge, she said.

“Because it is likely to take a few months to have enough vaccine available to immunize the millions of individuals who live and work in L.A. County, in the meantime, we all must continue to remain extremely diligent in reducing transmission of the virus,” according to Ferrer.

“We continue to see extremely high numbers of new cases, hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19. The surge we are experiencing is alarming. If you are not playing by the rules, to be blunt, you are part of the problem, and at this point, you are contributing to these distressing increases in cases, hospitalizations, and deaths,” she said.

State public health officials reported 33,278 new infections and 77 additional fatalities on Monday.

In total, the state had seen 1,585,044 cases of the virus and 21,046 deaths, according to a California Department of Public Health statement.

The statewide average positivity rate over the prior week had reached 10.6%, and the 14-day average was 10.5%, officials said.

As of Monday, L.A. County represented 34% of California’s COVID-19 infections and 40% of the state’s fatalities.

See also:

Huntington Hospital Intensive Care Unit 75 Percent Full