On Saturday, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported 7 new deaths from Covid-19 and 644 new positive cases.
275 County residents are currently hospitalized with Covid-19; 26% of them are in the ICU.
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While data showed that deaths from Covid remain low, hospitalizations are up slightly, and there has been a tripling of cases within the County over the past week. On Saturday, June 26, Public Health reported just 366 new cases of Covid, with 229 hospitalized.
In any event, case numbers and deaths announced today may reflect delays in weekend reporting.
Today’s Public Health numbers bring L.A. County to a total of 24,498 deaths from the coronavirus, and 1,251,848 confirmed cases. Test results have now been made available to more than 7,053,000 people, with 16% of them testing positive. Today’s daily test positivity rate is 1.3%.
One person whose death was reported today was over the age of 80. Three who died were between the ages of 65 and 79. Two who passed were between 50 and 64 years of age, while one was between the ages of 30 and 49.
Today, Public Health noted that L.A. County is in a “much better place,” Covid-wise, than it was last Independence Day. Still, the Department urged caution, given the increasing presence of Covid-19 variants (such as the Delta variant), which are contributing to rising case numbers.
“We are grateful to everyone for the tremendous progress we have made over the past year, yet we are not out of the woods just yet,” said Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer. “If you plan to gather with others this holiday, please take sensible precautions to avoid transmission of the virus, particularly if you are gathering with individuals and children not yet vaccinated. If you are unvaccinated, consider getting your vaccination now to increase your protection as other public health precautions have been lifted; talk to a friend or loved one who has been vaccinated and ask them about their experience. Vaccines provide us with the best tool for ending this pandemic that has plagued us for so many months.”
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