COVID-19 cases are surging again in the Los Angeles area, with more than 3,000 new cases reported in LA County yesterday, for the second day in a row. According to the LA County Department of Health, 3,780 new cases were reported on Saturday, which was the highest one-day total since July, and 3,061 cases were reported on Sunday. New cases per day had been below 1,000 for several weeks in a row for several weeks in October…and as recently as a week ago, on November 9, there were only 1,431.
According to the LA Times, the new surge, heading toward the Thanksgiving holiday, a time when many people may be tempted to gather with their extended family and friends, has prompted at least some experts to flat-out recommend that families do not get together for Thanksgiving dinner this year. Or, if you absolutely must, follow these guidelines:
The surge has also led officials to begin considering new restrictions, including a possible curfew, which could help limit business and social activity, and slow the spread of the virus, without forcing businesses to shut down completely again. (We’ll probably be hearing news and new recommendations along these lines from the state, county and city levels within the next day or two.)
And, yes, the increases are starting to filter down to our local neighborhoods as well. While case counts locally were inching up pretty slowly over the last couple of months, the increase has been more dramatic again in the last week or so. Here are some local case count charts from July, September and November. As you can see, there were similar increases in the total number of cases reported for each two-month period shown…but it’s also true that a much larger chunk of the September-November increases so far has come in just the last week, which does not bode well for the coming holiday season.
One bright spot so far, however, is that deaths have not increased dramatically over the last couple of months. But that, too, could change quickly if new cases and hospitalizations continue to soar.
In addition, there has been some good news on the potential vaccine front in the last week, with both Pfeizer and Moderna reporting development of vaccines that appear to be highly effective. Neither of those vaccines will be widely available for a while yet, however, since FDA approval is still pending, and production and distribution logistics will need to be worked out if and when FDA approval is achieved.
So the best advice to stay safe, and keep others safe as well, continues to be to limit social contacts, maintain social distance when you’re with anyone outside your immediate household, and to wear a mask (covering both your mouth and nose!) when you’re in contact with anyone outside your immediate household.
