L.A. County COVID Cases Continue Rising; Holidays Could Worsen Matters

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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - An upward surge in COVID-19 cases continued to haunt Los Angeles County health officials today, with the daily number of new cases rising to levels not seen since a mid-summer spike.

And the upcoming winter holiday season is leading to fears that extended gatherings among family and friends could exacerbate matters further.

The county announced another 2,065 coronavirus cases on Thursday, the highest single-day number of new cases not associated with a testing backlog since late August. That comes on top of 1,843 cases the county reported on Wednesday.

“Again, it's not a rapid increase, but it's been kind of a slow, steady increase,'' said Dr. Paul Simon, chief science officer for the county Department of Public Health.

Echoing concerns expressed by local health officials over the past few weeks, Simon noted that Los Angeles County's recent rise in case numbers islikely due in large part to residents gathering with people outside their own households, either at private get-togethers or at restaurants.

He said the county has no immediate plans to implement any sweeping shutdowns or other restrictions, but health officials will be watching the numbers closely.

“I think if we continue to see very slow, gradual increases, we may be willing to live with it,'' Simon said. “We're not going to do anything drastic at this point. We are, though, trying to intensify our messaging around discouraging gatherings. ... We think that's probably an important contributor.

“We understand people are getting very tired of this COVID world, and we hope that in the new year there will be some new strategies that will help us control spread,'' he said. “But for the time being, definitely through the Thanksgiving and December holiday season, New Year, we really are discouraging the gatherings outside your household.''

Simon said the county's recent case increases have not matched the “surges being reported in other parts of the country,'' where some have declared the onset of a “third wave'' of COVID-19.

“We do worry with the colder weather, more people being inside, the fatigue, people wanting to socialize more, with the holidays coming -- all of that creates a mix of circumstances that could lead to an accelerating increase. We hope that does not happen.''

Simon raised some eyebrows during his online media briefing when he was asked about a proposal being considered in the Bay Area that would require residents who travel to other parts of the country over the holidays to quarantine for 14 days when they return.

Surprisingly, Simon said Los Angeles County actually already has such a recommendation on the books, although it’s not a requirement. Simon acknowledged that the recommendation probably isn't very well known.

“There are so many guidance documents, sometimes these things get buried. That is a recommendation,'' he said. “We can make something a requirement, but at the end of the day it's only as effective as the degree to which there's adherence to it.''

In addition to the 2,065 cases announced by the county, Long Beach reported 39 new cases Thursday, while Pasadena added 12. The new cases increased the county's cumulative today from throughout the pandemic to 315,615.

The county reported another 25 coronavirus-related deaths, increasing the overall total to 7,140.

There were 825 people hospitalized due to COVID-19 as of Thursday. The hospital number topped 800 on Wednesday for the first time since September, although the count is still down from the peak of more than 2,000 daily hospitalizations in July.

Photo: Getty Images


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