LA County data greater than 1 million coronavirus circumstances
The well being division mentioned it believed the extra contagious UK variant was doubtless already spreading in the neighborhood and urged residents to “more diligently” observe security measures.
“The presence of the UK variant in Los Angeles County is troubling, as our healthcare system is already severely strained with more than 7,500 people currently hospitalized,” mentioned well being division director Barbara Ferrer mentioned in an announcement.
“Our community is bearing the brunt of the winter surge, experiencing huge numbers of cases, hospitalizations and deaths, five-times what we experienced over the summer.
“This extra contagious variant makes it simpler for infections to unfold at worksites, at shops, and in our properties. We are within the midst of a public well being emergency so please do the whole lot you may to guard yourselves and people you like,” Ferrer mentioned.
L.A. County’s case whole surpasses that of Illinois’ Cook County (429,270 circumstances) and Arizona’s Maricopa County (407,631 circumstances) mixed, in keeping with John Hopkins University information.
Cook and Maricopa counties presently have the nation’s second and third highest tally of circumstances, respectively, JHU information reveals.
“There are presently 7,597 folks presently hospitalized with Covid-19, and 22% of those persons are within the ICU,” L.A. County Public Health mentioned in its launch.
‘Waking up to a nightmare every day’
Los Angeles City Fire spokesman David Ortiz spoke to CNN at the Dodger Stadium where vaccines were being administered Saturday.
Ortiz said the situation in Los Angeles was “surreal.”
“It feels such as you’re waking as much as a nightmare, daily. We are attempting to make a dent on this big pandemic of individuals which might be getting sick, listening to how many individuals are dying daily, it is, it is unfathomable,” he mentioned.
“We on our fireplace division have misplaced two of our members — two invaluable members — to this illness, and so it hits residence watching the nurses pleading with folks to remain residence, to not have these events.
“It’s, it’s heartbreaking to see them work themselves to exhaustion and continue to come in every day — every day — and put on their game face and go to work on all these people — taking care of all these people.”
Ortiz mentioned lots of the deaths from Covid-19 have been pointless however that the vaccination program offered hope.
“Because every person that gets vaccinated, that’s an opportunity of a person that may be saved by that vaccine. And that’s one less person that’s going to become a victim to this virus,” he mentioned.
Coronavirus has already contaminated and killed extra folks within the US than in some other nation.
Source’s Stella Chan contributed to this report.