Pasadena Sees 99 New COVID-19 Cases Since Saturday

Authorities in Pasadena documented 59 new COVID-19 infections over the weekend, along with another 40 cases on Monday.

City spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said one additional death was added to the local death toll on Monday, although it was not reflected in the city’s online COVID-19 Dashboard.

The death was that of a man in his 40s who had not been vaccinated, she said. A Latinx unvaccinated male in his 40’s.

In total, Pasadena has seen 12,371 COVID-19 infections and 355 associated fatalities, officials said.

Pasadena’s 7-day COVID-19 case average has increased by over 700% since July 1. Please #GetVaccinated to protect yourself and your loved ones. https://t.co/6udQhDWFIH

— City of Pasadena (@PasadenaGov) August 16, 2021

Pasadena’s weekly average infection rate had increased by more than seven-fold between July 1 and Monday, from 4.1 average daily cases to 30.6, according to officials and city records.

Officials at Huntington Hospital reported handling 34 admitted COVID-19 patients as of Monday, with seven of them being housed in intensive care units.

A total of 828 patients had been hospitalized with COVID-19 at some point during the pandemic, according to PPHD records.

Los Angeles County Department of Public Health officials reported 2,426 new infections and five fatalities on Monday, raising the totals to 1,352,791 cases of COVID-19 and 24,905 deaths.

In particular, officials noted an increase in infections among pregnant women, which have spiked by 300% between the last week of June and the last week of July, from 27 cases to 81, the agency said in a written statement. As of August 10, a total of 11.264 infections had been detected among pregnant women in L.A. County, in all.

“Among the 10,998 births where there was testing information, 55 infants tested positive for COVID-19,” according to the county statement. “Twelve pregnant women who tested positive for COVID-19 have tragically passed away.”

As more research is done, evidence is mounting that COVID-19 can cause complications during pregnancy, L.A. County Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer said.

“Unfortunately, pregnant women are at high risk for serious health problems if they become infected with COVID-19. Getting vaccinated is the best way to reduce the risks of COVID-19 infection and complications for both you and your baby,” he said.

“If you are pregnant or a new mom, we encourage you to get vaccinated as soon as you can and you can get vaccinated at any time during pregnancy,” Ferrer said. “Studies continue to show the vaccines are safe for expecting and new moms and are very effective against COVID-19 and the Delta variant.”

The vaccines have been determined to be safe for women in all stages of pregnancy, county officials said.

“In light of these findings and the increase in cases across the country, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention strengthened its recommendation for COVID-19 vaccination for all women who are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant now, or might become pregnant in the future,” according to the statement.

More information on COVID-19 and pregnancy can be found online at publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/docs/vaccine/WomenAndCOVIDvaccine.pdf.

L.A. County officials listed 1,653 COVID-19 patients at local hospitals on Monday.

The county-wide daily test positivity rate was 3.5%, representing “a substantial decrease from the 6.1% seen two weeks ago and likely reflects the increase in routine screening testing of asymptomatic individuals,” the statement said.

Public health officials at the state level announced 11,437 infections and 11 fatalities on Monday, raising the statewide pandemic totals to 4,033,659 cases of the virus and 64,194 deaths.

The state’s weekly positivity rate stood at 6.1%, according to California Department of Public Health records.

As of Monday, L.A. County represented 34% of California’s COVID-19 infections and 39% of the state’s deaths.