Coronavirus hospitalizations in Los Angeles County climbed to 5,549, another chilling record, on Friday, Dec. 18, punctuating the pandemicâs deadliest week.
The medical center logjam helped fuel Southern Californiaâs intensive care unit availability index, which remained at 0% for the record second day on the stateâs pandemic dashboard.
Just since Monday, the county has reported more than 71,000 new cases. Fridayâs 16,504 new cases brought the countyâs total to 596,721 since the pandemic began. The county reports its hospitalization numbers a day behind the state, which tallies them along with other surrounding counties to calculate regional capacity.
L.A. County Public Health reported 96 people died from the virus, bringing the total number dead to 8,757. The pandemicâs 10-month-long siege has taken the lives of 312,722 people across the U.S.