The surge of COVID-19 infections continued to drive up hospitalizations on Monday, with state figures today showing the number of virus-positive patients in Los Angeles County medical centers nearing 2,000, the highest level since last winter.

According to the state, there were 1,994 COVID-positive patients in county hospitals as of Monday, a jump of more than 200 from the previous day and the highest number since last February. Of those, 278 patients were in intensive care, up from 263 on Sunday.

Fueled by the highly-contagious omicron variant, COVID-19 cases have skyrocketed in Long Beach and across the county.

Long Beach on Dec. 31 reported 1,809 new cases in one of the highest two-day jumps since the start of the pandemic. The city on Tuesday is expect to report another significant increase in numbers tallied from the weekend.

Long Beach, like the county, has seen a jump in hospitalizations. The city on Dec. 31 reported 178 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in area medical centers, up from 52 just two weeks ago.

The county reported nearly 45,000 new cases over the weekend, following a daily record high of 27,091 new infections on Friday.

With hospitalizations rising, county health officials urged residents to avoid visiting 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.

– City News Service contributed to this report