Los Angeles County broke another terrifying record on Thursday,Dec. 10, 2020. Health officials recorded 12,819 new coronavirus cases, and all indicators predict that the number will continue to increase.
The number of people hospitalized climbed to 3,433, an increase of 300 patients in the past two days. The county death toll has also spiked, a trend expected to continue for weeks as the surge from Thanksgiving gatherings plays out.
Another 74 deaths were reported on Thursday. The region’s ICU capacity estimated at just 7.7% as of December 10.
Dr. Paul Simon, Los Angeles County’s Chief Science Officer, stated, “Like a speeding car approaching a cliff, if we do not rapidly change course, we are in jeopardy of catastrophic consequences, with our hospitals overwhelmed and severely ill patients not being able to get the care they need,” Simon, said. “… If we do not take every precaution right now, more people will become very seriously ill, more people will suffer and more people will tragically pass away.”
LA County Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer was blunt about the effects of the holiday, and people who ignored the warnings. “We are two weeks out from Thanksgiving, and we are witnessing the devastating impact of the actions people took… If a non-household family member or friend invites you over to spend time together, please kindly decline. We need to get back to what we did in the spring, at the beginning of the pandemic, when few people went out and we took seriously our responsibility to care for each other,” she said. “This will slow the spread, protect those most vulnerable residents and prevent deaths.”
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