On Saturday, Los Angeles County passed the milestone of 28,000 Covid-related deaths, reporting 66 new deaths, as well as 41,765 new positive cases. Today’s death count is the highest the Department of Public Health has reported in a single day since April 2, 2021, with daily deaths having increased fourfold in the course of the last week alone.
The number of deaths and confirmed cases reported today may reflect delays in weekend reporting. But today’s data brings the County to a total of 28,008 deaths and 2,213,664 positive cases. The majority of the deaths reported today are associated with the Omicron variant which has fueled the County’s winter Covid surge.
At time of reporting, 4,386 County residents are hospitalized with Covid-19. It wasn’t immediately made clear what percentage of them are in the ICU.
COVID-19 Daily Update:
January 15, 2022
New Cases: 41,765 (2,213,664 to date)
New Deaths: 66 (28,008 to date)
Current Hospitalizations: 4,386 pic.twitter.com/WHqZl5Qhvd— LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) January 15, 2022
“As deaths often lag behind surges in cases and hospitalizations, sadly, the increase in deaths does not come as a surprise and tragically, we are prepared for even higher number of deaths in the coming weeks,” said Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer. “With unvaccinated individuals 22 times more likely to die from COVID-19 compared to those fully vaccinated, residents should not delay getting vaccinated and boosted as these measures are saving lives.”
Covid test results have now been made available to more than 10,580,000 people, with 19% testing positive. Today’s daily test positivity rate is 17.9%.
Public Health also today urged those in the County to “limit non-essential activities” in crowded areas—particularly indoors—and to switch out their cloth masks for an N95, KN95, KF94 or surgical mark for a greater chance at preventing transmission.