COVID-19 cases up 30 percent within the last week in Southern California

As large crowds gather at events, beaches and airports, COVID-19 cases are climbing in Southern California. More specifically, within the last week, new cases have increased by 30 percent. 

Last week, Alameda County reinstated its indoor mask mandate and Los Angeles County may be next by the end of this month if the numbers continue to climb. 

"Really, the number of cases to me that's most critical is the level of hospitalizations and the amount of hospital beds that are still open. This is a tremendously infectious new variant that is spreading and it will go down as the case numbers go up and as people develop immunity, and then there will be another variant that comes," said Dr. David Agus, a CBS News medical contributor.

Agus predicts that big events such as Pride events and graduations will trigger another surge in about two weeks. 

As of Saturday, there were 510 COVID patients hospitalized in Los Angeles County; 134 in Orange County; and 98 in Riverside.