With COVID-19 case numbers continuing to spike upward, Los Angeles County hospitals are likely to soon be strained with patients, the county health director said Thursday, noting that rising outbreaks at skilled nursing facilities have already prompted tighter infection-control measures.
The tightening of rules comes as the county continues to see surges in cases. On Thursday, another 6,245 COVID infections were reported in the county, one of the largest single-day numbers in weeks. Over the past seven days, the county has averaged more than 4,200 new infections per day, and the rate of people testing positive for the virus on a daily basis rose to 4.1%, up from 3.8% a day earlier.
Under CDC guidelines, counties in the"medium'' category will move to"high'' if the rate of new virus-related hospital admissions reaches 10 per 100,000 residents, or if 10% of the county's staffed hospital beds are occupied by COVID-positive patients. As of Thursday, state figures showed there were 429 COVID-positive patients being treated in county hospitals, up from 410 on Wednesday. The number of those patients being treated in intensive care was 55, up slightly from 52 a day earlier.
She added: 'Unless we interrupt this increase in transmission , it will have an impact on the health care system. The more cases you have ... the greater the strain will be on the health care system.''