California’s health department has updated the number of hospital patients with COVID-19 for the first time in several weeks, showing a continuing gradual decline both statewide and in Los Angeles County.
Wednesday’s update showed 220 COVID-positive patients in LA County hospitals, down from 253 as of May 11, when reporting paused due to a change in the state’s COVID-19 hospitalization data collection system as a result of the end of the federal public health emergency. The California Department of Public Health will resume issuing weekly updates going forward.
Statewide, the number of COVID-positive patients has dropped to 845, down from 1,149 in early May.
The data include all patients diagnosed with COVID-19 during their stay. It does not necessarily mean they were hospitalized because of COVID-19 complications or that they experienced COVID-19 symptoms.
Of LA County’s 220 patients, 20 were being treated in intensive care.
The county’s health department updates COVID data every Thursday, with the latest numbers showing 1,817 infections and 25 COVID-related deaths for the week ending June 19. The county’s cumulative totals are up to 3,753,381 cases and 36,482 deaths since the pandemic began, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
Like hospitalizations, case and death numbers have been gradually declining for several months.
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.
The county’s seven-day average test positivity rate was 5.36%, up from 3.95% last month.
The actual number of cases in the county is believed to be higher due to people who don’t report the results of at-home tests or don’t test at all.
Federal emergency declarations stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic are now over, but the county health department has noted that COVID-19 “continues to be one of the leading causes of death in Los Angeles County, requiring ongoing efforts to reduce severe illness through readily available vaccinations, testing and treatment.”
