Highest One-Day Number Of COVID-19 Deaths Reported In L.A. County As Hospitalizations Rise

Los Angeles County has reported the highest one-day number of deaths Wednesday, with hospitalizations continuing to reach new heights.

An additional 16,525 coronavirus cases were reported in Los Angeles County on Wednesday, along with 145 deaths, according to Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of the L.A. Department of Public Health (LADPH).

The additional cases reported Wednesday bring the county’s cumulative total to 663,954 along with a total of 9,153 deaths since March, according to the department.

L.A. County has experienced more than 1,000 COVID-19 deaths in just two weeks; on Dec. 8 the County reported 8,000 deaths. This is an average of nearly 73 COVID-19 deaths per day over the past two weeks, according to the LADPH.

A Christmas and New Year’s spike on top of the current surge will bring “catastrophic results,” public health officials said on Monday.

On Monday, Ferrer added residents cannot “test out” of following the guidelines on gatherings. A person is negative only at the time of testing. With the incubation period of the virus taking several days.

There are 6,155 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Wednesday, 20 percent of which are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), according to Public Health.

Over 4,400,000 people in Los Angeles County have been tested for COVID-19, according to Ferrer.

See Related:  Extension Of California Stay-At-Home Order ‘Very Likely’ In SoCal Region

The State stay-at-home order went into effect at midnight on Dec. 6, and remains in effect for at least three weeks in California regions where ICU capacity falls below 15%.

According to the State, as of Wednesday, Dec. 23, the Southern California Region has 0.0% staffed adult ICU capacity remaining.

On Wednesday, 373 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the Santa Clarita Valley, with 14,385 cumulative cases having been reported in the valley since testing began in March, the largest single day report of new cases, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LADPH). These cases include:

• 10,204 in the City of Santa Clarita* (+285)
• 433 in the unincorporated areas of Canyon Country (+16)
• 2,792 in Castaic* (+47)
• 72 in the unincorporated areas of Saugus (+5)
• 522 in Stevenson Ranch (+14)
• 95 in the unincorporated areas of Valencia
  
• 161 in the unincorporated areas of Val Verde (+6)
• 51 in the unincorporated areas of Newhall
• 22 in the unincorporated areas of Bouquet Canyon
  
• 21 in the unincorporated areas of Saugus/Canyon Country
  
• Eight in unincorporated Sand Canyon
• Four in San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon

In nearby Acton, there have been 225 (+3) cumulative cases, as well as 113 (+5) cases in Agua Dulce.

*As of Monday, Dec. 21, public health officials have recorded 1,952 cumulative cases have been reported at the Peter J. Pitchess Detention Center, including 1,422 at the North County Correctional Facility. Those cases are distributed between both the City of Santa Clarita and Castaic totals.

As of Wednesday, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital has conducted 14,605 COVID-19 tests. Of those, 2,148 have tested positive, and one test is still pending with Henry Mayo, according to Moody.

There are 90 patients in the hospital as of Wednesday, while 590 patients have been discharged since the hospital’s first case was reported in March, according to Moody.

One additional death was reported Wednesday, with the number of COVID-19 patients more than doubling over the past month.

There have been a total of 60 coronavirus deaths at the hospital, with at least 98 COVID-19 deaths reported across the Santa Clarita Valley.

See All Coronavirus Coverage: Coronavirus Coverage – COVID-19 Map

Ed. Note: These numbers are subject to change based on further investigation by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

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