Pasadena Sees Drop in New COVID-19 Infections, Increase in Deaths

Pasadena saw a significant decrease in newly detected COVID-19 infections on Wednesday, but also the largest number of deaths in more than three months as four fatalities were added to the city’s death toll, officials said.

Forty new cases of the virus were reported, which was less than half the 84 cases detected on Tuesday, according to Pasadena spokeswoman Lisa Derderian and city data.

It was the lowest single-day count of new infections since Dec. 1, with the exception of Dec. 14, when 15 cases were reported, but the statistics were incomplete due to a data backlog.

The four new deaths added to the official tally on Wednesday occurred between Dec. 11 and Dec. 16, Derderian said.

It represented the largest number of deaths reported in the city since Sept. 2, when five local deaths were reported.

One of the recent deaths was that of a resident of a skilled nursing facility, Derderian said. The other three were members of the community at large, and were “most likely exposed due to a household contact.”

Los Angeles County Health Services calculated Wednesday that there were only 648 total available hospital beds in the county, and 57 available intensive care unit beds.

The state-calculated ICU availability rate has remained at 0% since last week.

L.A. County Department of Public Health officials issued a stern warning as they reported a new record of 145 new COVID-19 deaths in the county, along with 16,525 new infections.

And a record 6,155 COVID-19 patients crowded county hospitals, officials said.

“In the last 24 hours, 145 more people have died. There is still time to cancel your holiday gatherings. If you are going to be outside your house, do not remove your face covering around other people,” the L.A.County Department of Public Health said via social media. “Stay safe, stay home.”

The California Department of Public Health reported 39,068 new infections and 361 additional deaths on Wednesday, raising the statewide totals to 1,964,076 cases of the virus and 23,284 fatalities.

The state’s average positivity rate over the prior days was recorded at 12.6%, and the 14-day average stood at 12.3%, according to the CDPH.

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