For the second day in a row, Los Angeles County has reported its highest rate of hospitalizations since the coronavirus pandemic began. Here's where we were yesterday.
Currently, 2,193 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 are hospitalized. That's up from 2,103 yesterday. The county also reported 44 new deaths today.
Speaking to reporters remotely, L.A. County public health director Barbara Ferrer called this time an "alarming and dangerous phase" of the outbreak. She said that reinstating the strict Stay-At-Home order isn't off the table.
Ferrer says because of the time it takes for the virus to incubate, today's rates reflect how people behaved three weeks ago (so, approximately the last week of June, post-Father's Day). That could mean worse news ahead:
"We're worried that in a few days from now, and a week or two from now, we will actually see our deaths increase, because they are associated with the increases that we're seeing in hospitalizations."
Younger people between the ages of 18 to 40 are being being hospitalized at much higher rates now, than at the start of the pandemic in Los Angeles. They make up nearly 30% of COVID-19 patients needing hospital care right now.
The county reported 2,758 new cases of coronavirus today.
Here's a look at longer-term trends in the county. To see more, visit our California COVID-19 Tracker and choose L.A. County or any other California county that interests you. These numbers are current as of Tuesday, July 14:
