New COVID-19 Infections in Pasadena Still Decreasing

Officials added two additional COVID-19 fatalities to Pasadena’s death toll on Monday, although new infections in the city remained relatively low and continued trending down.

Eleven new infections were detected on Monday, according to city spokeswoman Lisa Derderian.

The two latest victims who lost their lives to the virus were both residents of a nursing home, she said.

Over the prior week, Pasadena recorded an average of 16.6 COVID-19 infections daily, according to city data. A rate that low had not been seen since early November.

At Huntington Hospital, officials reported treating 57 COVID-19 patients on Wednesday, with 13 of them being cared for in intensive care units. The hospital’s number of COVID-19 hospitalizations has declined steadily since mid-January.

Meanwhile, Pasadena city officials ordered flags outside city buildings to be flown at half staff in remembrance of the 500,000 people who have died from COVID-19 in the U.S. as of Monday, in concert with a federal order to the same effect issued by President Joe Biden.

L.A. County Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer paused to reflect on the news that the U.S. had surpassed 500,000 COVID-19 deaths as of Monday.

“I do want to start today’s update recognizing the heartbreaking loss of life from this deadly virus,” she said. “Half a million people have passed away across our nation, and here in L.A. County, we’re approaching the terrible milestone of 20,000 deaths. Let us remember and honor all those who have passed with a moment of silence.’”

She went on to announce another 21 COVID-19 deaths in the county, reflecting a typically low number for Mondays due to reporting lags from the weekend. The new deaths pushed the county’s cumulative death toll since the pandemic began to 19,904.

Ferrer also announced 943 new cases — also a reduced number due to weekend delays in tallying numbers. As of Monday, a total of 1,181,403 cases were confirmed in Los Angeles County since the start of the pandemic about a year ago.

Case numbers, infection rates and hospitalizations continue to tumble from the highs seen during the winter surge. Ferrer noted the current seven-day average of daily new cases has dropped to about 1,600, from an early January peak of more than 15,000 per day.

The county’s COVID transmission rate — or the average number of people a COVID patient infects with the virus — dropped to 0.76, down from 0.81 a week ago. The county currently estimates that one in every 730 residents, excluding those who are in quarantine or isolation, are infected with the virus and capable of spreading it. That’s an improvement from last week’s estimate of one in every 460.

According to state figures, there were 2,146 people hospitalized in the county due to COVID, with 660 in intensive care. That’s a roughly 75% drop from the more than 8,000 hospitalizations reported in early January.

“This wasn’t a miracle, and this significant drop in our case numbers reflects actions and choices taken by millions of residents, workers and employers,” Ferrer said. “Should we continue to see less cases, we can move forward in our recovery, as lower case rates allow for other sector reopenings.”

She warned, however, that conditions could still worsen, adding that this is the week the county could start seeing a spike in cases from Super Bowl Sunday and Presidents’ Day weekend, if people ignored warnings against gatherings.

“We hope that persons chose to celebrate the Super Bowl and the Presidens’ Day weekend safely, with members of their own household,” she said.

“We don’t want to lose any ground in slowing the spread of the virus, especially as we now have some children and school staff returning to our classrooms,” Ferrer said.

At the state level, public health officials reported 4,665 new infections and 233 new deaths on Monday, bringing the statewide totals to 3,446,611 cases of COVID-19 and 49,338 fatalities.

The state’s average positivity rate over the prior week was recorded at 3%, while the 14-day average was 3.3%, representing the lowest rate since Nov. 6, according to the California Department of Public Health.

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

City News Service contributed to this report.

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Coronavirus Cases Drop Steadily at Huntington Hospital