Los Angeles County hospital space continued dwindling Monday as the surge of COVID-19 cases pressures emergency rooms and intensive care units, leaving health officials to decry residents who flocked to shopping centers over the weekend.
“If you’re still out there shopping for your loved ones for this holiday season or you’re planning a holiday get-together, then you are missing the gravity of the situation that is affecting hospitals across Los Angeles County and California and this nation,” county Health Services Director Dr. Christina Ghaly said. “People are very sick in the hospitals. They are dying there.
“And our hospitals may not have the equipment or the capacity or the resources to take care of you in the way that you need or expect,” she said. “Though they may seem benign, these actions are extremely high risk, and we ask that everyone do everything they can to avoid spreading the virus to avoid prolonging the surge and avoid increasing the number of deaths that families across our county will experience in the days and weeks to come.”
As of Monday, there are currently 5,709 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Los Angeles County. That’s 160 more people than were hospitalized on Sunday. That also sets a new record for hospitalizations in the county, beating the previous record of 5,549 which was set on Sunday.
Of those hospitalized, 21% are in the ICU. That translates to about 1,140 people in the ICU.
The 11-county Southern California region’s ICU bed availability remains at 0%. It first dropped to 0% on Thursday and has remained there ever since.
The Southern California region covers Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, Imperial, Inyo, Mono, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
The region has been under a state-imposed regional stay-at-home lockdown order since Dec. 7 because of the low number of ICU beds available. Although that lockdown order was originally scheduled to be lifted on Dec. 28, Gov. Gavin Newsom has indicated it most likely will be extended since COVID numbers keep rising.
Los Angeles County reported 11,217 new COVID-19 cases on Monday. While that number is lower than the 14,136 new cases a day the county was averaging last week, Monday numbers tend to be lower because of lags in reporting over the weekend.
LA County now has a cumulative total of 634,849 cases since the pandemic began in March.
The county announced 56 more people dead from the coronavirus on Monday, pushing the county’s cumulative death toll to 8,931 people.
West Hollywood recorded 13 new cases on Monday, for a cumulative total of 1,250 cases since the pandemic began. The city had no new deaths; the cumulative total remains at 10 deaths.
Below are the numbers for areas near West Hollywood:
- Beverly Hills – 14 new cases for a total of 1,375 cases and a total of 14 deaths.
- Carthay neighborhood – 2 new cases for a total of 529 cases and a total of 23 deaths.
- Culver City – 22 new cases for a total of 1,042 cases and a total of 38 deaths.
- Hollywood – 45 new cases total of 2,852 cases and a total of 23 deaths.
- Melrose neighborhood – 74 new cases total of 4,193 cases and a total of 92 deaths.
- Miracle Mile – 8 new cases for a total of 458 cases and a total of 6 deaths.
- Park La Brea – 5 new cases for a total of 289 cases and a total of 1 death.
- Santa Monica – 32 new cases for a total of 2,254 cases and a total of 56 deaths.
For information about the many resources available to West Hollywood residents who have been impacted by COVID-19, CLICK HERE.
