Pasadena Continues to See Few New COVID-19 Cases; County Reports Highest Number of Infections in 2 Weeks

Pasadena continued to see only a handful of new COVID-19 infections at five on Friday, but Los Angeles County officials reported the largest number of new cases in two weeks.

 health officials said while the virus remains present and there is no vaccine, caution on social distancing remains vital to prevent reversing the progress seen so far.

Pasadena reported five new infections and no new fatalities on Friday. The city had seen 2,555 infections and 122 deaths, in all.

The last death reported in the city was Monday, according to city data. Prior to that, the city went five days without a death.

But the novel coronavirus is still very much present, and it will soon be joined by the seasonal influenza, Pasadena spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said.

“Maintaining lower positive cases numbers is reassuring, but with more businesses opening up, flu season and a false sense of security, the virus will continue to grow,” she warned.

“Although we’re cautiously optimistic and know masks, social distancing and hand washing is playing a major role, there still is no vaccine and we need to continue to keep our guard up for ourselves and our loved ones,” Derderian said.

Huntington Hospital officials reported treating 20 COVID-19 patients on Friday.

The Los Angeles County Health Department, however, reported an increase in new novel coronavirus cases.

Officials announced 1,401 new infections and 34 additional deaths, raising the county’s overall totals to 265,755 cases of COVID-19 and 6,488 deaths.

“Today is the highest number of new cases reported within the last two weeks,” the L.A. County Department of Public Health said in a written statement.

Dr. Barbara Ferrer said health officials would be closely monitoring the situation over the coming days.

“We have seen slight increases in new cases and are paying attention to our case, hospitalization and death numbers to understand recent community transmission of COVID-19,” she said. “Data through this upcoming weekend will inform our understanding of the impact of Labor Day holiday actions. This information will inform decisions on re-opening.”

County officials also reported four additional cases of the COVID-19 related illness known as multisystem inflammatory syndrome, which has now affected 38 children county-wide. No deaths have been reported due to the condition, also known as MIS-C.

Officials said 760 patients were hospitalized with COVID-19 on Friday in L.A. County, with 28% of them being treated in intensive care units.

State officials reported 3,400 new detected COVID-19 infection and 84 additional fatalities on Friday.

The new numbers brought California’s overall recorded COVID-19 cases to 794,040, and the statewide death toll to 15,398.

The state’s average positivity rate over the prior seven days was 2.8%, the California Department of Public Health said in a written statement. The 14-day rate was 3%.

As of Friday, Los Angeles County accounted for 33% of California’s COVID-19 infections and 42% of the state’s fatalities.