Watch CBS News

LA County Reports 12,979 New COVID-19 Cases, 227 Deaths; 7,181 Hospitalizations

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Tuesday reported 12,979 newly confirmed coronavirus cases and 227 deaths, bringing countywide totals to 746,089 cases and 9,782 deaths.

New mural honoring health care workers - during the Coronavirus pandemic
SANTA MONICA, CA - DECEMBER 24, 2020 - Street artist Samir Evol Arghandwall works on a mural honoring health care workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic in Santa Monica on December 24, 2020. One part of the mural says, You Bring Hope. Barco Uniforms, a manufacturer of health care apparel, and non-profit Beautify Earth, commissioned Arghandwall to paint the mural. Arghandwall said he started the mural on Dec. 14 and hopes to finish it by January 5. The mural is on the side of SportsFit Physical Therapy & Fitness building. California has now recorded more than 2 million coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic, according to a county-by-county tally conducted by the L.A. Times. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Health officials said the high number of new deaths was due in part to the backlog associated with a Spectrum outage and holiday reporting delays. Additional backlogged reports are expected over the next few days.

RELATED: LA Health Officials Warn It's Possible New COVID Strain Is Here

Of the new deaths reported, 89 people who died were over the age of 80, 70 people were between the ages of 65 and 79, 40 people were between the ages of 50 and 64 and 18 people were between the ages of 30 and 49. Eighty-five of those who died had underlying health conditions.

Health officials also reported a new daily record in hospitalizations, with 7,181 COVID-19 patients admitted into local hospitals — an increase of 267 from Monday and a nearly 1,000% increase from two months ago. Of those currently hospitalized, 20% are being treated in intensive care units.

"Our healthcare workers are overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients and this current path of surging COVID-19 hospitalizations is not sustainable," Dr. Barbara Ferrer, public health director, said. "Even if you believe your life isn't at risk, actions that defy public health guidance certainly put other lives in danger. We are each other's keepers."

RELATED: 'Crisis Care' A Strong Possibility At Hospitals During Surge of COVID Patients

Officials also reported that, as of Dec. 23, five of the 3,852 pregnant women who have tested positive for COVID-19 have died. Of those who tested positive, 79% were Latina, 9% were white, 4% were Black, 3% were Asian, 2% identified with another race and less than 1% were Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander. Race/ethnicity was unknown or unspecified for the remaining 2%. Among the 1,923 births where there was testing information, 27 babies tested positive for the virus.

The department also extended the temporary stay-at-home order, which will remain in effect for as long as the state's regional stay-at-home order remains in effect in the Southern California region.

With testing results available for more than 4,650,000 people, the county's overall positivity rate increased to 15%.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.