LA County reports 2,779 new coronavirus cases as renewed surge persists
Los Angeles County on Tuesday, June 30, reported 2,779 additional coronavirus cases, the fourth consecutive day the number topped 2,000 — as concerns mount about a new surge.
There were 1,783 people hospitalized as of Tuesday, with 26% in intensive care units and 18% on ventilators. The numbers are “significantly higher,” county officials said, than the 1,350 to 1,450 daily hospitalizations seen in recent weeks.
Tuesday’s case count, meanwhile, was slightly lower than the 2,903 reported Monday — the most for a single day in the county.
Overall, 103,529 people have tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, since the pandemic began.
Health officials on Tuesday also reported that another 45 people have died from coronavirus-related causes, bringing the countywide death toll to 3,369.
The report did not include updated numbers for Pasadena and Long Beach, which operate their own independent health departments.
Long Beach on Tuesday reported another two residents had died from coronavirus-related causes, bringing that city’s death toll to 132. It also reported 321 additional cases, though the higher-than-usual number included data from Sunday and Monday; Long Beach has so far identified 4,120 cases of COVID-19.
Pasadena on Tuesday reported two additional deaths — bringing its death toll to 90. That city also reported 22 new cases, for a total of 1,328.
The numbers come as officials say there is a surge underway, prompting a host of new precautions being announced this week, including bars once again shuttering and beaches closed for the Fourth of July weekend.
“The LA County community needs to come together again to slow the spread of COVID-19, and we need to act with haste and urgency,” Barbara Ferrer, director of public health, said in a statement Tuesday. “The increases in cases and hospitalizations we are seeing will result in more deaths.
“It is on all of us, businesses and residents, to use all the tools we know to prevent further transmission of the virus,” she added. “Closely following all protocols for physical distancing, wearing cloth face coverings and washing hands frequently are crucial at this moment for preventing more serious illness and death from COVID-19.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday announced that he’d soon have more to say on a new “toggle back” on the stay-at-home order and the community reopening status.
Enforcement measures on wearing cloth masks in public also will come soon, he said..
“Tomorrow (Wednesday, July 1) we’ll be making some additional announcements on efforts to use that ‘dimmer switch’ that I’ve referred to and begin to toggle back on our stay at home order and tighten things up,” Newsom said. “The framework for us is this — if you’re not gonna stay home and you’re not gonna wear masks in public, we have to enforce, and we will and we’ll be making announcements on enforcement tomorrow.”
Newsom, though, didn’t indicate what types of changes might be in store ahead of the holiday weekend, but said additional restrictions were being pondered in response to continued rises in coronavirus case numbers, hospitalizations and positivity rates.
The number of people hospitalized across California due to the virus has risen 43% in the past two weeks, Newsom said, and the number of people in intensive care units has jumped by 37%.
Newsom ordered the closure of bars in Los Angeles and several other counties on Sunday, and recommended such closures in other areas. Thus far, Riverside and San Diego counties have both ordered bars closed.
But the governor said Tuesday that the bigger concern over the upcoming holiday weekend is family gatherings.
“Not just bars, not just (people) out in the streets, where people are protesting and the like,” he said. “It’s specifically family gatherings.”
Family gatherings, Newsom said, can include multiple households coming together — where they might “take down their guard.”
“They walk into that barbecue with masks on and they put the cooler down and the mask comes off,” Newsom said. “You have a glass of water, and all of a sudden nieces and nephews start congregating around, jumping on top of Uncle Joe.”
Family gatherings are consistently a top concern for health officials across the state, the governor said, and California is “moving into a weekend when family gatherings are part of the tradition.” As a result, he said, the state will be “a little more aggressive” over the holiday to ensure health measures are followed.
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