Pasadena Sees Lowest Number of New COVID-19 Cases in More Than Two Months; 7 Deaths Reported

Pasadena health officials on Tuesday reported 35 new COVID-18 cases, the lowest number of new daily infections since late November, but also reported seven new fatalities.

Three of the recent deaths were of residents of long-term care facilities, while the other four were members of the wider community, city spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said.

“Cases at facilities have decreased with less outbreaks occurring because of the vaccine rollout and slower COVID transmission,” Derderian said. “However, we are still receiving many death reports.”

Tuesday’s figures raised Pasadena’s totals to 10,299 COVID-19 infections and 263 deaths.

More than 11,400 Pasadenans have been inoculated with their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, while another 2,370 have already received their second injections, according to city officials.

Huntington Hospital treated 144 COVID-19 patients on Tuesday, with 21 of those people being cared for in intensive care units, according to hospital data.

Average daily COVID-19 admissions had declined to 15.5, down from a peak of nearly 30 in December.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported 3,764 new infections and 205 additional deaths on Tuesday, bringing the countywide totals to 1,124,558 cases of the virus and 17,057 associated fatalities.
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“The County continues to make progress in reducing the number of daily new cases and slowing transmission,” the agency said in a written statement. “However, the number of new cases remains substantially higher than the number of cases we saw in September, which were less than 1,000 new cases a day.”

The county’s overall positivity rate stood at 19%, while the daily test positivity rate was at 10%, health officials said.

More than 5,200 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized throughout the county on Tuesday, with 27% of them being housed in intensive care units.

L.A. County Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer once again extended sympathies to those mourning a COVID-19 victim, as well as urged people not to try to book vaccine appointments before their scheduled times.

“COVID-19 is responsible for more than 17,000 people passing away and thousands more becoming seriously ill in Los Angeles County,” she said.

“More than 72% of all our COVID-19 deaths occurred in people 65 years old or older. Given the high mortality rates among older individuals, please do not make appointments for vaccinations if it is not your turn. Help us make sure that our most vulnerable elderly residents are prioritized for the limited available vaccine.”

The California Department of Public Health announced 12,064 new infections and 422 fatalities on Tuesday.

Since the start of the pandemic, the state has recorded 3,270,770 total COVID-19 infections and 41,330 deaths, according to CDPH data.

The average positivity rate over the prior two weeks declined to 7.2%, which was the lowest level seen since Dec. 2.

As of Tuesday, L.A. County accounted for 34% of California’s total COVID-19 infections and 41% of the state’s fatalities.