Daily COVID cases in LA County have gone up by 10 times in one month

LA County averaging as many as 45,000 daily COVID cases

Another 40,000-plus cases of COVID-19 were reported in Los Angeles County Friday as the easily transmitted Omicron variant of the virus continued to make its impact felt, particularly in hospitals, where patient numbers continue to rise.

LOS ANGELES - The COVID-19 omicron variant has caused a massive spike in new positive cases in Los Angeles County recently. With the newest positive cases announced by the LA County Department of Public Health Wednesday, daily new cases have increased by nearly 10 times in the last month.

According to the latest data, there were 31,576 new cases confirmed in LA County Monday, according to Public Health. On Dec. 17, 2020, the department reported just 3,360 new cases. With Monday being a federal holiday, the department believes that Monday's totals are likely an undercount.

"Our hearts and prayers are with all those mourning the loss of their loved ones from COVID," Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer said in a press release.

Credit: LA County Department of Public Health

In addition to the more than 30,000 new cases reported Monday, 27 more people have died from the virus, and more than 4,500 are currently hospitalized, more than six times as many as one month ago.

Ferrer used Martin Luther King Jr. Day to highlight the disparities in COVID outcomes for people of color. "As Reverend King memorably said, ‘Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and the most inhuman because it often results in physical death,’" Ferrer wrote. "Tragically, we have seen this play out in real life and very clearly over the past two years with the disparate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on people of color."

According to the county's COVID-19 dashboard, 14-day case rates have spiked for many communities of color in recent weeks, in particular the Latino, Black, and Native American communities.

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