Saturday’s tally of Covid-19 cases, deaths and hospitalizations by the Los Angeles Public Health Dept. had some relatively good news – we’re no longer setting new records for cases.
Following two days of record-setting new cases numbers, Saturday’s L.A. Public Health report indicated 34,448 new cases were discovered, down from Friday’s 43,712.
While that’s good news, there were 16 new deaths reported, down from a total of 28 on Friday. This brings the total number of deaths in L.A. County up to 27,772.
New hospitalizations were at 3,200 on Saturday, up from Friday’s 2,902, although that number may include people who came to the hospital for some other reason and were determined to be positive for Covid-19 while at the facility.
The county public health officials put a different spin on these numbers, emphasizing a more frightening picture. They highlighted the high number of coronavirus infections in the last seven days, which is the highest total since the outbreak. Officials stated that hospitalizations have increased by twofold and that there has been a 20% increase in positive tests.
The overall count is high but the trend is downward is welcome news. This is particularly important since the Los Angeles Unified school District is preparing for the reopening public schools next Tuesday. This week’s new positives showed a 13.5% increase in infection rates for staff and students, a 10-fold increase from the totals before the winter break.
The majority of Los Angeles County schools are expected to open Tuesday. Montebello Unified, the county’s third-largest district, will delay reopening by one week.
At the collegiate level, UCLA on Friday became the latest California campus to postpone students’ return to in-person instruction. The extension of remote instruction at UCLA will continue through January 28. There was originally a two-week delay, but many UC campuses are now pushing the envelope, scared by rising case numbers.
USC also went to remote learning this week for its first week.
California’s mask mandates and social distancing guidelines are now in place for indoor businesses and activities until Feb. 15.
COVID-19 Daily Update:⠀
January 8, 2022⠀
New Cases: 34,448 (1,921,890 to date)⠀
New Deaths: 16 (27,772 to date)⠀
Current Hospitalizations: 3200 pic.twitter.com/D59xAsnZsY— LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) January 8, 2022