Hospitals ‘under siege’ as LA County faces deadliest coronavirus day ever, 21,411 new cases – Daily News

Los Angeles County reported the deadliest day of the pandemic to date on Wednesday, December 16, with 138 additional lives lost to the relentless new coronavirus. However, officials warned that the worst is likely to come.

The average daily deaths reported in LA County in the past week now surpass 60, a new high as a total of 8,568 people have lost their lives here so far. The county also reported 21,411 new cases on Wednesday, another record for daily reports. Aside from the 7,000 related to a reporting slowdown, the numbers were still up the previous high of 13,815 on Dec. 11.

New cases per day in the past week have now averaged more than 11,000 with an infection rate currently equal to about one in 80 people. Meanwhile, the number of beds available in the intensive care unit for treating patients in Southern California has fallen to its lowest ever level: 0.5%.

“The virus is widespread in all neighborhoods,” said Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer. “We have the most difficult road ahead of us so far.”

With every measure – in terms of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths – the Los Angeles coronavirus pandemic came off a cliff, propelled by what Ferrer called an “explosive and very deadly wave” on Wednesday.

A total of 4,864 people with COVID-19 have now been admitted to LA County hospitals, based on a state dashboard reporting a day earlier than the county at 4,656. With hospital admissions more than doubling in two and a half weeks, and with the daily number of new patients now exceeding 600, officials say there is a very real chance that the county’s health care system will soon become overwhelmed, possibly in less than two weeks.

Monday, Tuesday December 15, 2020, free COVID-19 test kits will be distributed in Van Nuys. There is a large spike in COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles County black and Hispanic communities. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News / SCNG)

To show how bad the situation has gotten, the graph showing a model for the expected need for new hospital beds went off the air as officials had to scale up to the new – and surprising – projections. Soon, the county would require 1,000 additional Intensive Care beds, in addition to the approximately 2,500 currently staffed.

“Within a few days, more than 5,000 patients will have COVID-19 and more than half of the intensive care beds will be occupied with COVID patients,” Ferrer said.

The county update did not include the latest figures from Long Beach and Pasadena, the city with its own health departments. Pasadena reported 135 new cases, out of a total of 5,070; the city’s death toll remained at 139. Four new fatalities increased Long Beach’s death toll to 306, while 1,109 new cases lifted the city’s total since the pandemic began to 23,082.

While the number is fluid, the county had about 900 beds available, including 100 ICU beds, although a state dashboard lists 1,331 available ICU beds as it takes peak capacity into account. Available beds in intensive care units across Southern California are down to 0.5%, according to the state’s surveillance system.

The Southern California region – which includes Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, Imperial, Inyo, Mono, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties – is covered by a state-imposed regional restraining order that bars gatherings of people from different households. The order can be canceled when the area rises about 15%, but that does not seem likely.

Monday, Tuesday December 15, 2020, free COVID-19 test kits will be distributed in Van Nuys. There is a large spike in COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles County black and Hispanic communities. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News / SCNG)

“Our hospitals are under siege and the end of our model is not yet in sight,” said Dr. Christina Ghaly, director of LA County Health Services. “I have not said this before because we have not been in this situation before, but the worst lies ahead as a hospital and emergency medical system do not provide the level of care we should all expect for ourselves and our loved ones. There is simply not enough staff. “

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