The number of COVID-19-positive patients in Los Angeles County hospitals rose again on Wednesday, Nov. 2, with state figures showing the figure again rising above 400.
The number of COVID-positive patients has bounced up and down in recent weeks, with health officials closely watching the figures as they hope to avoid another winter surge of virus infections, hospitalizations and deaths.
According to state figures, there were 427 COVID-positive patients in county hospitals as of Wednesday, up from 388 on Tuesday. Of those patients, 48 were being treated in intensive care units.
County officials have said that about 40% of COVID-positive patients were actually admitted to hospitals due to virus-related illness, while the others were admitted for other reasons, and in many cases only learning they were infected when they were tested at the hospital.
On Wednesday, the county reported 1,392 new COVID infections, giving the county a cumulative total from throughout the pandemic of 3,490,492. The number of cases released by the county each day is an undercount of actual COVID activity, due to the wide-spread use of at-home tests, the results of which are generally not reported to the county.
Another six virus-related deaths were also reported Wednesday, raising the overall death toll to 33,986.
The seven-day average daily rate of people testing positive for the virus in the county was 4.8% as of Wednesday, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, California Surgeon General Dr. Diana Ramos and Rep. Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles, toured the Dr. Kenneth Williams Health Center in Los Angeles on Tuesday, as officials promoted the importance of getting vaccinated for the flu and getting the updated COVID-19 vaccines and boosters.
“We are honored that Secretary Becerra, Congresswoman Bass, and Surgeon General Dr. Ramos joined us to discuss our successful vaccination effort and hear from the South Los Angeles community about the social conditions affecting their health,” said Jim Mangia, St. John’s President & CEO. “I think all of us … are coming together to change the world. We are proud of the operation we built to support the communities of South, Central and East LA through the COVID pandemic, and are grateful for the Secretary’s and Congresswoman’s commitment to the work of community health centers across the country.”
“St. John’s has always been there for the community, and I’m not surprised with the substantial vaccine numbers they’ve accomplished,” said Becerra. “As secretary, I am directing HHS to reach out to the community – we’re not going to wait for folks to come to us, we’re going to go to them. It shows respect, it extends dignity and it saves lives.”
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Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer told reporters last week the county has seen slight upticks recently in some virus-tracking metrics, most notably the weekly infection rate, after months of steady declines.
She said the increases were not an immediate cause for concern, but officials plan to closely monitor the trends heading into cooler winter months, which have led to surges in cases the past two years.
City News Service contributed to this report