LA County Reports 1,465 New Cases Of COVID-19; 93 New Deaths
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Los Angeles County reported 1,465 new cases of COVID-19 and 93 additional deaths on Sunday.
According to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, 369 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19. Of those hospitalized, public health officials said 30 percent were in intensive care units.
Health experts are striking a unique tone when it comes to the pandemic: optimism. Experts say we should be in the middle of yet another surge right now, but we are not.
"With one-third of the people immune through natural infection— that gives the virus few people to travel through and that slow transmission and that's been a key contributor to the decrease in cases that we've seen," said Dr. Roger Lewis, director of the COVID-19 hospital demand modeling for the L.A. County Department of Health Services.
Since the pandemic began, L.A. has had a total of 1,179,063 cases and 19,793 fatalities.
"We now think we have nearly 4 million out of 10 million people who are immune," added Lewis. "That represents partial herd immunity and plays a big role in limiting the current spread of the virus and a future surge."
As of Sunday morning, mass vaccination sites within the county remained closed due to shortages. Winter storms nationwide have blocked the delivery of doses.