California’s summer outbreak of the coronavirus continues to surge. L.A. County health officials are projecting that it could run out of hospital beds in two weeks, while ICU beds could run out sometime in July.
In the initial panic surrounding the outbreak of the coronavirus in the U. S., California instituted several measures — including the nation’s first stay-at-home order — which helped prevent massive levels of community spreading from occurring in its most densely populated cities. But four months into the pandemic, the most populous state is experiencing a most concerning uptick in cases: Over the past week, California has averaged 5,313 new cases every day. Since June 20, the state has recorded over 40,000 new cases, building its case total to 215,000.
On Sunday, public-health officials reported 2,542 new cases, the second highest single-day total recorded in the county. As a consequence, Governor Gavin Newsom ordered bars closed in Los Angeles County, as well as in six other counties. “While we did anticipate increases in cases as sectors reopened, we did not expect the increases to be this steep this quickly,” explained Los Angeles County public health director Barbara Ferrer on Friday.
