LA County reports more than 40,000 new coronavirus cases so far in the New Year – Daily News

Los Angeles County reported 23,553 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, January 1, and an additional 21,000 cases on Sunday, as Omicron variants pushed the explosive winter surge into the New Year.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, a new explosion on Case Road has increased the county’s total to 1,741,292, with four more dead (two daily) pushing the dead to 27,640. Due to a holiday, the department did not provide COVID updates on Saturday.

Statistics proved to be surprisingly high in the light of the typical delays in weekend reports.

Hospitalizations for the county’s coronavirus continued to increase on Sundays, surpassing 150 for the second straight day.

According to the latest state statistics, the number of COVID patients in county hospitals has increased from 1,628 on Saturday to 1,792. Of these patients, 263 were in the intensive care unit. It increased from 246 people on the previous day.

These numbers occurred two days after local health officials reported record numbers of coronaviruses in 2021 and reported a whopping 27,091 new infections, along with 12 additional deaths associated with the virus. ..

Also, another wave of COVID-promoted flight cancellations struck an airport in Southern California on Sunday, canceling flight 207 at LAX due to COVID-19 and weather issues.

On New Year’s Day, the airport experienced 208 cancellations.

John Wayne Airport in Orange County reported 10 cancellations on Sunday, 9 of which were Long Beach Airport and 7 of which were Hollywood / Barbank Airport. Cancellations at Ontario International Airport are not listed.

The problem is the continuation from last week when thousands of flights were canceled every day around the world. On Sunday, tracking site FlightAware.com listed 3,994 canceled flights worldwide, of which 2,374 were related to domestic and international flights.

Abandoned flights are primarily due to airline staff shortages caused by the recent surge in COVID-19 cases caused by Omicron variants. Weather issues also caused some of the cancellations.

“Our heart remains in families experiencing the sadness of losing their loved ones at COVID,” said Barbara Ferrer, director of public health. “We hope that by working together to implement important public health measures, we can maintain safety, protect loved ones, and keep schools and businesses open. In the meantime, revocation can lead to explosive infections, given the spread of more infectious strains of the virus. “

Feller further states: Masks can be unpleasant and unpleasant, but given that many infected people spread COVID 1-2 days before symptoms, the physical barriers softened by the mask can reduce the spread of virus particles. is known. “

As of Sunday, the daily test positive rate was 21.8%. Last month, that percentage was less than 1%.

Barbara Ferrer, director of the county’s public health department, said the organizers of the Rose Parade respect the progress of the annual event scheduled for Saturday, despite the traditional crowds. I did. However, she said, people at high risk of viral infections and serious illnesses should avoid such large-scale events.

“This year may be the year that some people are watching this on TV,” she said.

According to public health officials, there is evidence that only those who have recently completed the vaccination series or received booster immunization can prevent infection with the highly contagious Omicron variant.

“The days ahead will be very difficult for all of us as we face a very high number of cases, reflecting the widespread transmission of the virus. To help people work and go to school. All of us need to act responsibly in order to do so, “Feller said in a statement.

“All efforts now need to focus on preventing the medical system from being overwhelmed, as explosive infections can continue in the coming weeks. Suffering from serious illness due to COVID. Most people in our hospital are not vaccinated, so those who have not yet been vaccinated or boosted should be as far away as possible from others to avoid getting infected or infecting others.

“And vaccines and boosters continue to provide excellent protection against serious illness and death, but the ones most vulnerable to serious consequences when infected (children under the age of 5 are still vaccinated). (Including not being) must be surrounded by an additional layer of protection, which includes wearing a high quality mask that fits snugly around others and limiting unnecessary activity. Includes, “Feller said.

“In fact, we are experiencing the worst surge at this point as the number of cases grows,” Feller said in an online briefing on Thursday.

She became infected with more fully vaccinated people due to the circulation of highly infectious Omicron variants of COVID-19, but hospitalization primarily affected unvaccinated people. He said he was continuing. She said the hospitalization rate for unvaccinated people was 28 per 100,000 inhabitants, while the vaccination rate was relatively flat at 1 per 100,000.

“Vaccination remains very protective against hospitalization,” she said.

She shows that, according to statistics, unvaccinated people are 14 times more likely to die of the virus than vaccinated people. She also said that county-wide mortality rates were relatively flat, despite the dramatic surge in infectious diseases, but that could change, she said.

“Fortunately, the death toll is low and unchanged, because it’s only been about a week since hospitalizations began to increase,” she said.

Authorities say that about 90% of COVID deaths during a pandemic occurred in people with underlying illness. The most common conditions are high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease.