Los Angeles County proceeds into its darkest moment of the coronavirus pandemic yet as Public Health officials report 11,476 new cases on Saturday. While the latest count of new Covid-19 cases may be smaller than that of Friday and Thursday, Los Angeles County is far from in the clear as transmission rates soar beyond November levels.
On Saturday, Public Health official announced that the December surges have accounted for an increase of 370% new coronavirus cases in just one month. Deaths have also seen a 416% increase across the county since November and on Saturday officials confirmed an additional 70 deaths caused by the coronavirus.
With more than 10,000 new daily cases, deaths and hospitalizations on a rise, the 2020 holiday season poses a dangerous threat to Los Angeles residents. As the Thanksgiving surge has proven, travel and gathering with relatives and friends outside one’s household can increase the risk of spreading and contracting the coronavirus.
Even with both local and state stay-at-home orders in place, L.A. County residents must continue to do their part to stop the spread of the Covid-19 virus, officials say. Public Health officials urge residents to avoid all non-essential travel, maintain physical distance and wear face masks when possible.
The County’s latest reported surge in coronavirus cases, deaths and hospitalizations comes as vaccines make their way to other parts of the world and as the FDA approves emergency use of Pfizer’s medication.
To date Los Angeles officials have identified a total of 512,872 new cases and a total of 8,269 deaths county-wide.
COVID-19 Daily Update:
December 12, 2020
New Cases: 11,476 (512,872 to date)
New Deaths: 70 (8,269 to date)
Current Hospitalizations: 3,850 pic.twitter.com/SgkJPdfuAA— LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) December 13, 2020