The number of COVID-19-positive patients in Los Angeles County hospitals dipped just under 700, while health officials reported Thursday 1,171 new COVID-19 infections and 17 more virus-related deaths in their latest data.
The new cases gave the county a cumulative total from throughout the pandemic of 3,685,950.
The daily case numbers released by the LA County Department of Public Health are undercounts of actual virus activity, due to people who use at-home tests and don’t report the results, and others who don’t test at all.
The majority of those who die with COVID-19 are elderly or have underlying health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease or hypertension.
According to state figures, there were 699 COVID-positive patients in Los Angeles County hospitals as of Thursday, down from the 773 on Wednesday. Of those patients, 76 were being treated in intensive care units.
Masks are still required indoors at health-care and congregate-care facilities in the county, and for anyone exposed to the virus in the past 10 days, and at businesses where they are required by the owner. Masks are strongly recommended for high-risk individuals, and for people riding public transit.
