The highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus is still spreading quickly in LA County, sparking a total of more than 3,000 new COVID-19 cases reported yesterday – the highest number since mid-February. According to a statement from the LA County Department of Public Health:
“The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) confirms 3,058 new cases of COVID-19, marking the third day in a row with more than 2,500 cases reported in a day. Over the last four days more than 10,000 cases were reported.
There are 655 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized; an increase of more than 200 people in one week. Last Friday, there were 452 people hospitalized with COVID-19 illness.
Today’s test positivity rate is 5.2%, an increase from last Friday’s rate of 4.0%.”
Or, in more graphic terms, here are the increases we’ve seen over the last week, in both new cases and hospitalizations:
LA County COVID Cases, Deaths & Hospitalizations - July 17-23, 2021
| Date | New Cases | Deaths | Current Hospitalizations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7/17/21 | 1,827 | 11 | 462 |
| 7/18/21 | 1,635 | 4 | 507 |
| 7/19/21 | 1,233 | 2 | 528 |
| 7/20/21 | 1,821 | 5 | 544 |
| 7/21/21 | 2,551 | 7 | 585 |
| 7/22/21 | 2,767 | 13 | 645 |
| 7/23/21 | 3,058 | 7 | 655 |
The slightly better news is that 62% of LA County residents ages 16 and up are now fully vaccinated, which officials say is keeping the new surge from being even worse than it is so far.
“If we didn’t have 5.3 million people fully vaccinated in L.A. County, we would probably be seeing almost double the number of cases today,” said LA County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer in the County’s statement yesterday. “As cases continue to rise, many of us are trying to figure out what steps to take to minimize exposure to the virus. For those eligible and not yet vaccinated, now would be an important time to get your vaccine because our three vaccines all offer a lot of protection to the vaccinated person and also slow down the spread. For everyone, common sense precautions including masking when indoors, frequent handwashing, and avoiding crowds, will reduce your risk while allowing you to continue to enjoy the activities you love.”
Locally, too, our vaccinated percentages continue to creep up, but the pace is very slow these days, and only two of our Buzz-area neighborhoods have hit or exceeded the 80% level that is generally considered to be the threshold for the kind of herd immunity that can keep the virus from spreading widely.
As it has for several weeks now, LA County is trying to spark more people to get vaccinated by offering incentives – in the form of concert ticket ticket giveaways at major venues – for people to get their first shots. Click on the image below for full details of this week’s sweepstakes:
