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Los Angeles County’s COVID-19 numbers continued Wednesday to trend in an encouraging direction, according to the latest data released by the state and the county health department.
State figures Wednesday showed 435 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in the county — down from 441 Tuesday and 447 on Monday. Of those patients, 40 were being treated in intensive care, down from 44 Tuesday and 48 Monday.
The statewide total of COVID-positive hospital patients stood at 1,892 Wednesday, down from Tuesday’s 1,938 and Monday’s 1,931 after falling below 2,000 at the end of last week for the first time since November.
Some patients were admitted for other reasons and learned they had COVID after a mandated test.
Meanwhile, the LA County Department of Health on Wednesday reported 537 new coronavirus cases, a drop from the 644 recorded Tuesday. Twelve additional virus-related deaths were also reported in the county, the same number as a day earlier.
Those numbers bring LA County’s totals since the pandemic began to 3,721,744 cases and 35,949 deaths.
A majority of people who die with COVID-19 are elderly or have an underlying health condition such as diabetes, heart disease or hypertension, health officials have said.
Overall case reports from the county are considered to be undercounts of actual virus activity, due to the number of people who use at-home tests and don’t report the results, or those who don’t bother testing at all.
The seven-day average daily rate of people testing positive for the virus was 4.3% as of Wednesday, up from 4.0% Tuesday and the 3.9% reported each day since last Thursday.
