9,000 COVID-19 deaths in LA County, 23,000 in California

With the coronavirus surge and hospitals crowded, Los Angeles County reached another major milestone this week: over 9,000 total deaths.

Los Angeles County recorded 96 new deaths Tuesday, the third highest number in a day. The county has averaged 85 deaths a day for the past week, a record.

The numbers underscore that as COVID-19 spreads uncontrollably in Los Angeles County, the death toll increases rapidly.

“Unfortunately, today marks another tragic milestone as we acknowledge and sadden the more than 9,000 residents who have died from COVID-19. Our actions affect the health and well-being of many in our county, and failure to follow public health rules is deadly, ”said Barbara Ferrer, LA county director of public health, in a statement Tuesday.

More than 23,000 Californians have died of COVID-19 since the pandemic began, a milestone passed on Tuesday. More than 3,000 people have died in the past 14 days – an astonishing number accounting for 13% of the state’s 23,303 deaths.

These numbers serve as “a sober, sober reminder of how deadly this disease is and how tragic the loss of life is,” said Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday.

On Tuesday, 375 deaths were reported nationwide, according to a statewide record conducted by The Times. This was the second worst death toll in a single day, short of the December 16 record when 394 deaths were recorded.

Fresno County reported 89 deaths Tuesday; Previously, the largest number of deaths in a single day was 28, which happened on December 11th. Fresno County reports nearly 2,000 new coronavirus cases every day for the past week, nearly seven times worse than the comparable Thanksgiving number.

Fresno County has an average of 13 deaths per day from COVID-19 for the past seven days. The comparable number from Thanksgiving was two deaths a day.

On Monday, the last day for which full data is available, there was Record numbers nationwide of COVID-19 hospitalizations – 17,843 – and patients in intensive care – 3,755.

In LA County, where 10 million people live, a poll at one point found that 30 beds were available in the intensive care unit at 9 a.m. on Sunday. A similar record last week was 69.

“Today we are over 100% of our usual patient volume, and of that volume, 52% of our inpatients are patients diagnosed with COVID,” said Greg Adams, chairman and general manager of Kaiser Permanente, on Tuesday. “16 of our 36 hospitals are already over 100% full in our intensive care units. We’re struggling to increase capacity for COVID patients as we speak. “

Hospitals already need to step up measures to ensure that the sickest patients receive the highest possible care. This includes moving some patients who are normally in the intensive care unit to other areas of the hospital, e.g. B. going to a recovery area, or staying in the emergency room longer than normal.