One person now dies every 10 minutes from COVID-19 in Los Angeles County, and hospitals run out of available ICU beds as well as sufficient oxygen.
There are now 6,708 patients with COVID-19 in hospitals in Los Angeles County – a number that has steadily risen to unprecedented levels in recent weeks – as the available capacity of the ICU region is 0.0%.
Dr. Anu Seshadri of UCLA Health says that while there is no shortage of supplies in the hospital system, independent oxygen tanks and plastic tubes are vital to the fight.
“That’s what we were afraid of. It’s supply and demand,” she said. “We are afraid that demand will exceed supply. That is happening now.”
Los Angeles County officials are examining whether a new strain of virus that has appeared in South Africa and the United Kingdom has made its way here. The new strain is considered more contagious, although not necessarily more deadly than the previous strains.
“Given that LA is a hub in terms of travel, the people who come here to visit, the family that goes out, the schools that are present, it wouldn’t be surprising if that new strain identified in the UK is identified here in Los Angeles.” . Seshadri said.
Much of the recent wave is attributed to gatherings during Thanksgiving.
Health officials have warned people to stay home during the winter holidays, but millions of Americans are still traveling. On Christmas Eve, the TSA tested nearly 1 million people.
There is also new information about a rare COVID syndrome that affects children.
Hilda Solis, president of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, says the county is seeing an increase in cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C).
She says the county has seen 51 cases of MIS-C, including the death of a child. All cases were hospitalized and about half ended up in the ICU.
“It’s heartbreaking that every day, more than 14,000 Los Angeles County residents test positive for COVID-19,” Solis said. “It is even more painful to see an increasing number of children infected with MISC-C.”
“There is a misconception that COVID-19 has an impact only on the elderly or those with the underlying health conditions. and even without underlying health conditions. In Los Angeles County, the Latinx community bears the brunt of the COVID-19 and MISC-C cases. ”
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