Pasadena May Have Dodged Labor Day Weekend COVID-19 Surge

There were eight new COVID-19 infections and no new deaths on Thursday as Pasadena officials began to grow cautiously optimistic that a feared viral spike expected after the Labor Day weekend may have been averted.

Since the start of the pandemic, the city has recorded 2,550 infections and 122 deaths.

“The numbers are looking good,” city spokesperson Lisa Derderian said. “We need to continue in this direction for a few more days before we can confidently say we have not seen a significant Labor Day holiday spike.”

“The only good thing about the fires and bad air quality is people did not gather outside and stayed inside their respective households more,” she added.

Huntington Hospital reported treating 22 COVID patients on Thursday.

Los Angeles County public health officials reported 1,165 newly detected infections and 28 additional fatalities.

A total of 264,414 cases of COVID-19 and 6,455 deaths had been documented, according to the L.A. County Department of Public Health.

Just over 750 people were hospitalized with the virus on Thursday, with 28 percent of them being treated in intensive care units.

The county’s overall positivity rate held at 9 percent, with nearly 2.6 million tests administered, the L.A. County Department of Public Health said in a written statement.

The California Department of Public Health announced 3,170 new infections and 110 new deaths on Thursday, bringing the state’s totals to 790,640 novel coronavirus infections and 15,314 deaths.

Over the prior week, the state’s average positivity rate was 2.8 percent, according to the CDPH. The 14-day rate was recorded at 3.1 percent.

As of Thursday, Los Angeles County accounted for 33 percent of California’s COVID-19 cases and 42 percent of the state’s total fatalities.