By City News Service
Photo: Getty Images
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Los Angeles County has reported its highest daily number of new COVID-19 infections since mid-April, continuing an upward trend that began following the statewide lifting of health restrictions, and which could be driven in part by spread of a highly contagious coronavirus variant.
According to numbers released Thursday by the county Department of Public Health, 506 new COVID-19 cases were reported, more than double the average daily number the county was reporting in mid-June, when the state and county virus restrictions were lifted.
The county s rate of people testing positive for the virus held steady at 1.2% on Thursday, but that s triple the rate the county was reporting on June 12, and a jump from the 0.8% rate reported just last Friday.
“Whenever we see a doubling of cases and a quadrupling of test positivity over a short period of time, we are reminded of how easily the virus can spread,” county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement. “The three vaccines we have in the U.S. provide powerful protection against serious illness, and death from all the variants, and the commonly circulating virus.”
“While the most important thing is to get vaccinated, it is sensible when you go indoors to a place, and you don t know everyone s vaccination status, to put on a face covering to maximize protection for everyone. If you are not fully vaccinated, you must wear your mask in all indoor public settings,” she said.
COVID-19 Continues Spiking in LA County – NBC Los Angeles nbclosangeles.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nbclosangeles.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Thursday the highest number of COVID-19 cases in a day since mid-April with 506 new cases. This is more than a doubling of new cases in two weeks.
To date, Public Health identified 1,250,717 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County, including 28,298 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley and a total of 24,489 deaths countywide. There are 275 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 28% of these people are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Testing results are available for more than 7,035,000 individuals with 17% of people testing positive.
The County’s daily test positivity rate is 1.2%, an increase from last week’s rate of 0.7%. The daily average case rate is 2.19 cases per 100,000 people, also an increase from last week’s rate of 1.74 cases per 100,000.
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