Health officials are keeping a close watch on the rate of people hospitalized with COVID-19, and while the numbers are not yet as high as last year’s surge, the next few weeks will be critical for area medical centers.

Long Beach on Monday reported 1,088 new cases and a total of 214 virus-infected people in area hospitals, up from 51 two weeks ago. While three new deaths were reported on Monday, overall death rates have remained low, giving hope that the highly-contagious omicron variant is less deadly compared to other variants.

Long Beach City Health Officer Dr. Anissa Davis on Tuesday said she remains concerned that a surge of hospitalizations and deaths could be yet to come from people infected at holiday gatherings. She said health officials will keep an eye on the case rates over the next few weeks.

“So far we have not seen the rate of hospitalizations and deaths as we did last year at the rate that you would expected, but that doesn’t mean we won’t stress our health care system because even if there are fewer hospitalizations now, there are so many more cases,” she said. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”

Omicron is so contagious that everyone will likely be exposed or infected at some point, she said. She urged people to wear snug-fitting masks, get vaccinated and get their booster shots if eligible, noting that the vast majority of people hospitalized with COVID-19 are unvaccinated.

“It may not completely protect you from getting it but it will play a big part in preventing you from being hospitalized,” she said. 

Dr. Graham Tse, who heads the COVID-19 response at Long Beach Medical Center and Miller Children and Women’s Hospital, said the hospitals are bracing for a possible surge, but more than two years into the pandemic now, they’re also better prepared.

“We never say it’s become routine but we’ve literally been living this for two years, so we’re much more comfortable in handling these patients,” he said.

Tse said he has seen a concerning increase in the number of children hospitalized with COVID-19 in the recent surge, which is likely due to omicron’s contagiousness and the low vaccination rates for children.

“We’re seeing significantly more than the last surge (in December 2020) or during the summer,” he said. “This is really the first time during this entire pandemic we’ve seen an increase in pediatric patients with COVD.”

The number of children hospitalized in the Long Beach area was not immediately available, but the Los Angeles Department of Public Health reported Monday that the number of pediatric COVID patients in hospitals—while still relatively small—increased by nearly 190% from Dec. 4-25, with children under 4 seeing the biggest pediatric increase.

Although current figures were not immediately available, county officials told City News Service last week that on Dec. 2, there were eight pediatric patients hospitalized with COVID in the county, but that number jumped to 21 on Dec. 23.

The overall number of COVID-19-positive patients in Los Angeles County surged well above the 2,000 mark on Tuesday amid a surge in infections that has seen daily case numbers skyrocket over the past two weeks.

According to state figures, there were 2,240 COVID-positive patients in county hospitals as of Tuesday, a jump from 1,994 on Monday.

The hospitalization number is the highest it has been since last February in the midst of another winter COVID surge.

Due to rising patient numbers, the county Department of Public Health on Monday urged residents to avoid visiting hospital emergency rooms unless they urgently need emergency care.

“Residents should not be visiting the emergency department solely to get a COVID test or for minor complaints that could be resolved through their primary care physician,” according to the county.

Tse said he’s also seen an increase in people coming to the emergency room at Long Beach Memorial hoping to get tested.

“If you have mild symptoms, you shouldn’t be coming to the emergency department,” he said. “There are lots of options for testing.”

Davis said Long Beach has seen an “unprecedented” surge in testing demand in the past two weeks, with a record of more than 6,000 people getting tested on one day. Despite the demand, she said, appointment slots are still available as are walk-ups.

Davis said those who were directly exposed to someone who has tested positive should get tests, as well as those who are experiencing symptoms.

For more information visit the city’s COVID-19 testing page.