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L.A. County COVID-19 Hospitalizations Dip Below 2,000, MIS-C Cases in Children Reach 100
Arcadia Weekly Feb 26, 2021
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The three-day average daily number of hospitalizations. | Graph courtesy of L.A. County Public Health
For the first time in three months, the daily number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Los Angeles County dropped below 2,000. On Thursday, there were 1,988 people with COVID-19 hospitalized, 30% in the I.C.U. The last time hospitalizations were that low were on Nov. 29 when there were 2,049 hospitalizations reported.
“While case and hospitalization numbers have declined, COVID-19 remains widespread and deadly and variant cases are increasing,” said Barbara Ferrer, director of Public Health. “We still have more progress to make that will allow for further re-openings so please continue keeping your distance from others, wearing a mask correctly over both your nose and mouth, and washing your hands often.”
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health also reported 10 additional cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), bringing the total cases in L.A. County to 100 children including one death. L.A. County has experienced more than a 77% increase in children with MIS-C this past month; on Jan. 23 there were 62 children with the disease. Officials say this increase in cases is “a distressing delayed result of the surge we experienced in December and January.” During the surge, there was a significant increase in children infected with COVID-19. Most children with MIS-C were infected with COVID-19 at some point prior to a diagnosis.
All 100 children with MIS-C in L.A. County were hospitalized and 40% of the children were treated in the I.C.U. Of the children with MIS-C, 30% were younger than 5 years old, 40% were between 5 and 11 years old, and 30% were between 12 and 20 years old. Latino/Latinx children account for 71% of the reported cases.
MIS-C is a serious inflammatory condition associated with COVID-19 that affects children under 21 years old. Symptoms include fever that does not go away and inflamed body parts, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs.
