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Another Terrible, Record-Breaking Day For LA Covid Numbers
The latest COVID-19 numbers for L.A. County. (Courtesy of L.A. County)
Los Angeles County continues its frightening trend of breaking COVID-19 records. Public health officials today reported another 258 deaths from coronavirus, surpassing an all-time high set only yesterday.
Similarly high death totals were reported last week but those numbers included delayed records due to an internet outage over Christmas.
Today's statistics bring the total number of county residents who have died from coronavirus to 11,328.
In addition, health officials announced 11,841 new cases of coronavirus today. They say one out of every five people who are getting tested are testing positive for COVID-19.
At today's COVID-19 briefing, L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer says she's "more concerned than ever" and called the current situation a "health crisis of epic proportions."
"People who were otherwise leading healthy, productive lives are now passing away because of a chance encounter with the COVID-19 virus. This only ends when we each make the right decisions to protect each other," Ferrer said.
Right now, 8,023 COVID-19 patients are receiving hospital care in L.A. County — a number that has dropped slightly for the first time in several days. But officials warn that even if that number appears to be plateauing, the rate of hospitalizations is still well above what the county's hospital system can safely handle.
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The total number of COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles County hit 852,165.
OVERALL LOOK AT LA COUNTY NUMBERS:
Here's a look at longer-term trends in the county. To see more, visit our California COVID-19 Tracker and choose L.A. or any other California county that interests you. These numbers are current as of Wednesday, Jan. 6.
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