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Los Angeles County’s health department Thursday reported 1,544 new COVID-19 cases, a decrease from the 1,741 cases reported last week as COVID-19 hospitalizations fell to a record low.
Thursday’s update showed for the third consecutive week that wastewater concentrations of SARS CoV-2, the virus that results in a COVID-19 infection, are at 8% of the most recent winter peak, indicating that, although transmission is still occurring, there is low immediate concern for rapid spread of the virus. Wastewater concentrations provide more accurate information about COVID transmission levels than reported cases alone.
The health department said current hospitalization levels for the virus are the lowest recorded since the beginning of the pandemic. The seven-day average number of daily COVID-19 hospitalizations in Los Angeles County is 211, a decrease from 214 one week ago.
As of this week, 11% of hospitalized COVID patients were in intensive care units. On average, there are 39 new COVID-19 hospital admissions per day, with 3% of all admissions being people under 18 years old.
Like hospitalizations, case and death numbers have been gradually declining for several months.
Public Health is reporting 13 new COVID-19 deaths this week, with nine of those deaths occurring in people over 65 years old, highlighting one of the ways older people continue to be more vulnerable to COVID. 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 health department updates COVID data every Thursday. 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 “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.”
