Sunday’s numbers pushed the county’s five-day average caseload of infections to 4,097, with 20,487 new cases reported since Wednesday.
Los Angeles County surpassed public health officials’ benchmarks for triggering tougher anti-coronavirus business restrictions, as 2,718 new infections were reported Sunday, Nov.22. The new rules, which will begin Wednesday at 10 p.m., will restrict dining at restaurants, breweries, wineries and bars to takeout, drive-thru or delivery service. Sunday’s statistics pushed the county’s five-day average caseload of infections to 4,097, with 20,487 new cases reported since Wednesday. In-person dining will not be allowed, at minimum, for the next 3 weeks, officials said. Wineries and breweries can continue their retail operations, however. Hospitalizations, too, are posting dramatic increases, up to 1,401 on Sunday — the highest since August — representing a major increase from a month ago when daily hospitalizations were around 730. The number of people hospitalized patients increased by about 35% over the past seven days. Under thresholds released this week in response to the relentless surge in cases, health officials last week said restaurants, wineries and breweries would be closed for in-person dining if the county reached a five-day average of 4,000 or more cases, or if hospitalizations topped 1,750. If the climb continues, expect even tougher restrictions: If the county’s five-day daily case average exceeds 4,500, or if hospitalizations top 2,000, the county will issue a strict “Safer At Home” order — much like the one imposed at the onset of the pandemic. The order would allow only essential workers to leave home, or people who are accessing essential services. The county also reported nine additional deaths on Sunday. To date, Public Health has identified 364,520 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 7,43 deaths. “As we modify our Thanksgiving holiday celebrations, we are reminded of the many families who will miss their loved ones who have passed away from COVID-19. We send wishes for healing and peace,” said Barbara Ferrer, director of Public Health. “The persistent high number of cases requires additional safety measures that limit mixing in settings where people are not wearing masks. We hope individuals continue to support restaurants, breweries and wineries by ordering for take-out or delivery. We also fervently hope every L.A. County resident supports all our businesses by following the Public Health directives that we know work to slow spread. Unfortunately, if our cases and hospitalizations continue to increase, we will need to issue further restrictions to protect our healthcare system and prevent more deaths.” Testing results are available for more than 3,542,000 people, officials said, with 10% of them testing positive. County health officials reported 4,522 new coronavirus infections on Saturday, Nov.21, just days after the county reported its worst single-day report since the pandemic began, with more than 5,000 infections posted on Thursday. Sunday’s county update did not include new figures from Long Beach or Pasadena, which operate their own health departments. LA County, like others in the state’s most restrictive “purple tier,” began a curfew Saturday night, from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. through Dec.21. People are allowed to shop for groceries, pick up food and walk their dogs.
