Officials with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LADPH) announced Wednesday that over 10,000 people had died across the county as a result of COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic.
An additional 10,392 coronavirus cases were reported in Los Angeles County on Wednesday, along with 274 deaths, according to officials with the LADPH.
“We have reached the terrible milestone of exceeding 10,000 deaths from COVID-19 in LA County, the terrible reality is that the average number of people dying each day from COVID-19-related illness is about 150 people a day,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of LADPH. “This is almost as high as the average number of people dying each day from every other cause, which is about 170 people.”
The additional cases reported Wednesday bring the county’s cumulative case total to 756,116, along with a total of 10,056 deaths since March.
County hospitalizations are continuing to rise, with the daily test positivity rate increasing to around 20%, a major increase from the average 4-5% that defined the first eight months of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis.
In 2019, L.A. County saw an average of 165 deaths a day from all causes, while in 2020, the county has reported an average of 140 deaths a day from COVID-19 alone, Solis said.
“It’s not too late to cancel your plans to gather or to travel. We can still reverse our course and we have been pleading with many of our residents here in Los Angeles County to take your celebrations online and do everything virtually,” Solis said during a Wednesday press briefing. “It will feel different certainly but its necessary, for the sake of the safety of our public and our people in our families”
Photo courtesy of LADPH
As of Wednesday, there were 7,415 people hospitalized with COVID-19, 20% of which were in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
On Monday, LADPH officials revealed that county hospitalizations had increased by nearly 1000% since Halloween, when only 750 patients were in the hospital.
According to the State, as of Wednesday, Dec. 30, the Southern California Region has 0.0% staffed adult ICU capacity remaining.
On Monday, the LADPH revealed that average daily deaths in L.A. County have increased by 600%, from 12 average deaths per day in early-November to 84 average deaths per day in mid-December.
See Related: Southern California Stay-At-Home Order Officially Extended
Health officials say that at its current rate, one person in Los Angeles County dies of COVID-19 every 10 minutes, as of Saturday afternoon.
“Most heartbreaking is that if we had done a better job reducing transmission of the virus, many of these deaths would not have happened. As we come to the end of 2020 — a devastating year for countless numbers of people — I know that I, like so many people, hold onto hope for a brighter and better future,” Ferrer said. “This upcoming year offers us the opportunity to rebuild a more just world after the pandemic and to make sure that we never again witness so much. global suffering. We have a chance to make it right. So let’s start today by recognizing our shared humanity and responsibility to take care of each other first.”
On Wednesday, 163 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the Santa Clarita Valley, with 16,085 cumulative cases having been reported in the valley since testing began in March, according to the LADPH.
These cases include:
- 11,615 in the City of Santa Clarita* (+130)
- 481 in the unincorporated areas of Canyon Country (+1)
- 2,907 in Castaic* (+17)
- 88 in the unincorporated areas of Saugus (+6)
- 600 in Stevenson Ranch (+6)
- 98 in the unincorporated areas of Valencia
- 178 in the unincorporated areas of Val Verde (+3)
- 53 in the unincorporated areas of Newhall
- 24 in the unincorporated areas of Bouquet Canyon
- 26 in the unincorporated areas of Saugus/Canyon Country
- Nine in unincorporated Sand Canyon
- Six in San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon
In nearby Acton, there have been 265 (+6) cumulative cases, as well as 131 (+3) cases in Agua Dulce.
*As of Monday, Dec. 28, public health officials have recorded 1,956 cumulative cases have been reported at the Peter J. Pitchess Detention Center, including 1,425 at the North County Correctional Facility. Those cases are distributed between both the City of Santa Clarita and Castaic totals.
As of Tuesday, Dec. 29, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital had conducted 15,162 COVID-19 tests. Of those, 2,411 had tested positive, and seven test was still pending with Henry Mayo, according to Patrick Moody, spokesperson for the hospital.
There were 95 patients in the hospital as of Tuesday, Dec. 29, while 662 patients have been discharged since the hospital’s first case was reported in March, according to Moody.
One additional death was reported Tuesday, with the number of COVID-19 patients more than doubling over the past month.
There have been a total of 71 coronavirus deaths at the hospital, with at least 109 COVID-19 deaths reported across the Santa Clarita Valley since March.
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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