Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of LA County’s public health department, said the latest spike is triggering a health care crisis and overwhelming hospital ICUs, adding that the current surge has to do with too many Southern Californians attending travel and vacation gatherings.
Officials are again warning people not to travel and gather during the upcoming holidays.
“Anytime you are with others who are not in your household, it is now much more likely than ever before that someone near you is infected,” Ferrer said at a briefing Monday. “The only way forward that has any chance for us to stop golf is for us all to stay at home as much as possible and enjoy this vacation alone with our immediate family.”
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Dr. Christina Ghaly, director of the County Health Services, said the level of transmission must be reduced.
“We absolutely need to avoid the surge of a wave that could occur if people mingle with others for the next week or so over the coming holiday season,” she said.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti again urged residents to stay at home as much as possible. He said the test sites in LA have helped 3 million people and the positivity rate in those sites is now a whopping 20.58%.
The province registered 11,271 new COVID-19 cases on Monday and the number of people currently hospitalized stands at 5,709, 21% of which are in the ICU.
“Public health warns that without a change in the way we celebrate the winter vacations, Los Angeles County will experience a wave atop a wave atop a wave,” the county said. “Hospitals are already over-capacity and the high-quality medical care we are used to in LA County is beginning to be compromised as our primary care health workers are pushed to the limit.”
Meanwhile, the province said it expected to receive 116,600 doses of the Moderna vaccine in the initial shipment this week.
City News Service contributed to this report.
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