US Los Angeles County shatters daily record of COVID-19 cases third time in a week

AFP

Los Angeles County, the most populous county in the United States, has shattered its daily record of COVID-19 cases the third time within a week, as the holiday season draws near.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health on Friday confirmed 8,860 new cases of COVID-19 and 60 new deaths in a daily release, bringing the metropolitan area's total count to 430,583 cases and death toll to 7,842.

Los Angeles County is home to over 10 million people. Its previous high of 7,854 COVID-19 cases was recorded on Thursday.

There are 2,668 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized in the county, with 24 percent in the intensive care units, according to the department.

Officials said this is the fourth consecutive day the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 reached an all-time high, much higher than 1,298 cases registered two weeks ago.

"Los Angeles County continues to experience a pandemic that is moving in a direction that will cause significantly more suffering and deaths. As case numbers and hospitalizations continue to rapidly increase, the number of individuals who will experience severe health outcomes will also increase," said Barbara Ferrer, the county's public health director, in the daily release.

"The best thing to do right now and in the upcoming holiday season is to stay at home and not travel," she added. "Encourage your family and friends to stay connected virtually and delay meeting in person until we are at a better place in the pandemic."

According to California authorities, available intensive care unit capacity in the Southern California Region has dropped to 13.1 percent as of Friday evening.

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday announced plans for a regional stay-at-home order to contain the pandemic based on hospital capacity, which is designed to be triggered when fewer than 15 percent of beds are available in ICU for a region.