Another Unsettling Day For COVID-19 Cases In LA County — More Than 3K For First Time Since February

In what's shaping up to be a second summer surge of COVID-19, Los Angeles County health officials reported more than 3,000 new cases on Friday.

Another seven deaths from the virus were also reported, and the number of COVID patients in local hospitals also ticked up to 655. Four of the deaths were people between the ages of 50 and 64, the others were older.

The surge is largely due to the rapid spread of the delta variant among the unvaccinated. The variant is also being blamed for "breakthrough" cases in people who are fully vaccinated, but have tested positive for the virus.

That staggering one-day case total is the first time new infections have reached that level since mid-February, when most of California was starting to come out of the deadly winter surge, and vaccines were not widely available to the general public.

Over the past four days alone, the county has confirmed more than 10,000 new cases.

By comparison, on July 1, L.A. County reported just over 500 cases that day, and fewer than 300 people were hospitalized at that time.

The positivity rate for tests is now 5.2%, up from last Friday’s rate of 4.0%.