LA County continues seeing high rates of transmission with more than 200,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases over the past 7 days, the highest numbers of cases in one week since the beginning of the pandemic. Hospitalizations have also doubled in one week to 3,200 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19, and over 20% of those getting tested are positive for COVID-19.

Public Health urges residents to upgrade their masks to medical grade masks that do a better job at blocking COVID-19 virus particles and to reconsider attending higher-risk activities, including indoor activities where individuals are unmasked for long periods of time, as well as crowded outdoor events.   

“Our hearts remain with those families experiencing the sorrow of losing those they love to COVID,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “As the surge continues, we ask residents and businesses to continue following the public health safety measures that we know reduce spread and keep people safe. This includes wearing a medical grade mask that is more protective against the Omicron variant and not spending time around others who are unmasked. These upgraded masks can be a surgical mask or an N95 or KN95 respirator mask.”

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) today released the latest data on COVID-19. The number of cases and deaths are likely to reflect reporting delays over the holiday and the weekend.

• 34,448 new COVID-19 cases (1,921,890 cases to date)
• 16 new deaths due to COVID-19 (27,772 deaths to date)
• 3,200 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19
• More than 10,269,000 individuals tested; 17% of people tested positive to date