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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The number of COVID-19-positive patients in Los Angeles County hospitals has held mostly steady, while another 21 virus-related deaths were reported.
According to state figures, the COVID hospitalization number in the county was 350 as of Friday, down slightly from 351 on Thursday. The number of those patients being treated in intensive care ticked slightly upward, from 52 on Thursday to 59 on Friday.
The 21 new COVID-related deaths lifted the county's overall death toll from the virus to 31,576.
Another 889 virus cases were confirmed Friday, giving the county a cumulative pandemic total of 2,829,091.
The rolling average daily rate of people testing positive for the virus was 0.7% as of Friday, roughly the same as it has been for the past two weeks.
On Thursday, the county Department of Public Health reported an uptick in COVID infections attributed to the BA.2, an offshoot of the Omicron variant that spurred a winter surge in cases and hospitalizations.
According to the county, the BA.2 sub-variant accounted for 14.7% of all specially sequenced cases from the week ending March 5 -- more than double the 6.4% rate from the previous week. Experts have suggested that BA.2 is at least 30% more contagious than the Omicron variant, which was already substantially more easily spread than the original COVID-19 virus.
``As the county sees growing cases of the more-infectious BA.2 subvariant, everyone, especially those who are at elevated risk or homebound, should be fully vaccinated and boosted, and Public Health thanks our partners who are working to provide access to these life-saving vaccines for these at- risk residents,'' Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement Friday.
County officials said they are expanding mobile vaccination efforts to reach homebound residents or others who are unable to reach a vaccine clinic or pharmacy on their own. According to the county, about 9,960 residents considered homebound have been vaccinated in the county in the past year. There are believed to be a total of 10,000 to 15,000 homebound residents in the county.
Information on obtaining mobile vaccination service is available by calling 833-540-0473. Information is also available at vaccinatelacounty.com.
According to the county, as of last Sunday, 83% of eligible county residents aged 5 and older had received at least one dose of COVID vaccine, and 75% were fully vaccinated. However, only 30% of children aged 5-11 have been fully vaccinated, the lowest rate of any age group.
Among Black residents, only 55.4% are fully vaccinated, along with 58.9% of Latina/o residents, compared to 73% of white residents and 82% of Asians.