The number of COVID-positive patients in Los Angeles County hospitals has plunged below 3,000, falling to 2,841, according to the latest state numbers released Sunday.
Along with that decrease of 171 patients from the previous day, the number of COVID patients in intensive care also fell again, dropping by 17 people to 599.
Hospitalization numbers have been declining steadily since reaching over 4,800 in mid-January. The death toll from this winter’s omicron-fueled surge remains high, however. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported 65 additional deaths associated with COVID-19 on Sunday, and 7,017 new positive COVID tests. Officials said those numbers likely reflect reporting delays over the weekend.
The department reported 84 COVID-related deaths on Saturday, and 85 on Friday.
Sunday’s figures brought the county’s totals to 2,727,159 cases and 29,428 deaths since the pandemic began.
The seven-day average rate of people testing positive for the virus continued to fall, reaching 5%, down from 5.4% Saturday, 5.9% Friday and 6.4% Thursday, according to the health department.