Los Angeles County reported 2,103 new cases of COVID-19 and 35 more deaths Saturday, bringing the county’s totals to 220,762 cases and 5,245 fatalities.
Although the volume of positive cases is still elevated—Long Beach reported close to 800 new cases this week—officials reported some good news on Thursday: the positivity rate among those who are tested declined from over 14% several weeks ago to 8.6% this week.
Officials with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said a backlog of cases owing to issues with the state electronic lab report system is still expected, although data that tracks other key indicators, including hospitalizations and deaths, are not affected by the reporting issue.
“If you are heading to the beach or a park, please remember to use sunscreen and always wear a face covering when you are around any other people including when you are in the parking lot and walking to and from your destination,” said Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer. “If you feel reluctant to wear a face covering during the hot weather, please stay home and away from all others not in your household. In spite of the heat, we still need to continue taking every measure possible to slow the spread of the COVID-19 and reduce community transmission rates so we can re-open our schools and get more people back to work.”
As of Saturday, there were 1,393 people hospitalized with the virus, with 33% in intensive care, continuing a downward trend that has led to cautious optimism that the county is successfully slowing the impact of COVID-19.
The number of people hospitalized Friday was 1,415. The seven-day rolling average of daily hospitalizations was 1,521 as of Friday, down about 25% from the 2,026 average at the end of July. Testing results were available for nearly 2,063,000 individuals with 10% of all people testing positive.
The department urged any person with a positive lab result to call 1-833-540-0473 to connect with a public health specialist who can provide information about services and support. Residents who do not have COVID-19 should continue to call 211 for resources or more information.