As COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations increase in Los Angeles County and the Santa Clarita Valley, the Department of Public Health reported Thursday its highest number of daily cases since the onset of the pandemic.
In a press conference held on Thursday, Barbara Ferrer, the director of the L.A. County Department of Public Health, reported 37,215 new positive cases and 30 new deaths in the last day.
However, officials said that many of the COVID-positive patients hospitalized are seeking care for a non-COVID health issue.
“Data analyzed by Public Health showed that, while back in early November 75% of hospitalized patients who tested positive for COVID were hospitalized for medical problems related to the COVID diagnosis, the percentage of people hospitalized for COVID illness has declined now to 45%, meaning that more than half of COVID-positive hospitalized patients are in the hospital for non-COVID-related illness,” read the Public Health statement. “And while COVID-positive patients do represent a substantial strain on the health care system regardless of the reason for their hospital admission, there are likely to be less COVID-positive patients requiring ICU care and ventilators than last winter.”
In the Santa Clarita Valley alone, hospitalizations at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital for patients with COVID-19 jumped from 38 on Monday to 58 on Thursday. In the last 24 hours in the SCV, according to the latest figures from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, 1,184 new cases were reported — bringing the total number of local cases since the onset of the pandemic to 49,137.
The total number of SCV deaths as a result of COVID-19 remained at 375, according to health officials.
In L.A. County as a whole, the total number of cases since the onset of the pandemic has now reached 1,843,922 as well as 27,728 deaths.
“As cases soared today to the highest level since the start of the pandemic, those vaccinated and boosted continue to be protected from infections and severe illness,” read a statement from the Department of Public Health. “Vaccinated and boosted individuals were almost four times less likely to get infected and 38 times less likely to be hospitalized than those who were unvaccinated.”
Department of Public Health officials also asked residents, in order to keep workplaces and school open, to adhere to masking requirements when indoors — regardless of vaccination status — stay home if you are sick, and adhere to isolation/quarantine requirements if you are infected with COVID or have had close contact with an infected person.
Public Health officials also released the following updated COVID-19 statistics Thursday:
Countywide COVID-19 cases reported in the past 24 hours: 37,215
Total COVID-19 cases in L.A. County: 1,843,922
New deaths related to COVID-19 reported in the past 24 hours: 30
Total COVID-19 deaths in L.A. County: 27,728
Hospitalizations countywide: 2,661
Hospitalizations at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital as of Jan. 6: 58, with 1,761 discharged since the onset of the pandemic.
COVID-19 cases reported in the Santa Clarita Valley in the past 24 hours: 1184, 854 of which came from the city of Santa Clarita.
Total COVID-19 cases in the SCV: 49,137
Total COVID-19 deaths in the SCV as of Jan. 5: 375
Percentage of vaccinated people (at least one dose) in the city of Santa Clarita as of Dec. 23: 78.6%
Percentage of vaccinated people (at least one dose) in the SCV as of Dec. 23: 75.1%
