Nearly 19,000 new COVID cases reported in LA County since Saturday

Nearly 19,000 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Los Angeles County since Saturday, officials announced Monday.

The county also reported an additional 29 new deaths bringing the death toll to 32,537.

According to the county Department of Public Health, 7,503 cases were confirmed Saturday, 7,403 on Sunday and 3,943 on Monday. 

The 18,849 new cases brought the county's caseload to 3,225,697.

Officials said the actual number of cases is likely to be much higher due to take-home COVID tests.

The average daily rate of people testing positive for the virus was 16% as of Monday. As of Saturday, there were 1,252 people in the hospital with COVID. 

Last Thursday, the county moved to the "high" virus-activity level due to rising hospital numbers. 

If the county remains in the "high" category for two weeks, an indoor mask mandate will return on July 29.