Los Angeles County is seeing a continued rise in COVID-19 cases, reflecting a typical summer surge, and the number of people infected and hospitalized is also on the rise.
Among those who have recently tested positive for COVID-19 is Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, whose office announced her results Friday morning just before a virtual press conference via Zoom. The mayor first tested positive for the virus in June 2023.
The rise in COVID-19 cases in California comes as concentrations of the coronavirus remain high in the state’s wastewater, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Doctors say Los Angeles County has seen an earlier-than-normal increase in cases and hospitalizations since May, beginning earlier than normal for this time of year. The county’s mid-year increases in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations didn’t begin until early July in 2021 and 2023, but began in early May in 2022.
For the week ending June 23, the most recent data available, the average number of reported cases was 215 per day, up from 154 the previous week. A month earlier, for the week ending May 26, an average of 83 cases were reported per day.
The official tally is an undercount because it only includes tests done in health care facilities. The tally doesn’t take into account the many more positive tests people get at home, or the far fewer people who get tested after they’re sick. But the tally can still help spot trends, especially during COVID surges.
The latest tally marks the highest daily number of new cases since February, as the virus’ winter peak is on the decline – 621 cases a day during the winter peak, and 571 a day last summer.
Across California, the percentage of positive coronavirus tests is rising. In the week ending June 24, 9% of tests came back positive. A month ago, the positivity rate was 3.4%. Last summer, the peak rate was 13.1%.
A new variant of the coronavirus, called FLiRT, is increasingly overtaking previously dominant strains of the virus.
The new FLiRT variants, officially known as KP.3, KP.2 and KP.1.1, are thought to be about 20% more transmissible than their parent strain, JN.1, the dominant winter variant, said Dr. Peter Chin Hong, an infectious disease expert at the University of California, San Francisco.
According to the most recent available information, in the two weeks ending June 22, 62.9% of presumptive COVID samples in the U.S. were FLiRT variants, up from 45.3% a month earlier.
Despite being more contagious, the new mutation does not appear to cause more severe illness.
Hospitalizations of people who test positive for the coronavirus are also trending upward. In the week ending June 22, an average of 153 patients were admitted to Los Angeles County hospitals each day, up from 138 the previous week. At its peak last summer, the average was 620 per day, and in the winter, it was 825.
The rate of coronavirus-related emergency department visits is also increasing. In the week ending June 23,
2.1% of emergency room visits in Los Angeles County were coronavirus-related, up from 1.2% a month earlier. Last summer, that rate peaked at 5.1% in late August.
Despite these increases, coronavirus concentrations in Los Angeles County’s wastewater have remained roughly stable recently. For the week ending June 15, the most recent data available, coronavirus concentrations in wastewater were 17% of the peak seen in the winter of 2022-23. That’s up slightly from 15% the week before, and up from 13% the week before that, but was at 16% the week before that.
Last summer, coronavirus concentrations in Los Angeles County sewage reached 38% of the peak levels seen in the winter of 2022-23.
Many parts of California are reporting elevated levels of coronavirus in wastewater. Santa Clara County, the most populous county in Northern California, continues to report high coronavirus concentrations across a wide swath of Silicon Valley from San Jose to Palo Alto.
Fourteen states, including California, have high or very high levels of coronavirus in their wastewater. California is among nine states with high levels, along with Arkansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. The five states with very high levels of coronavirus in their wastewater are Florida, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.
Los Angeles County’s COVID death rate remains stable: For the week ending June 4, the county averaged less than one COVID death per day, according to the most recent information available.
Summer surges in virus infections typically coincide with increased travel and group gatherings, and most of the population hasn’t been wearing masks for a long time, increasing the likelihood of infection. Also making the possibility of infection even greater is the fact that most vaccinated people have been there for a long time since their last COVID-19 booster shot.
Across California, 36.2% of seniors have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine since it was introduced in September. During that same time, only 18.3% of adults ages 50-64 have received the updated vaccine, as well as just 9.7% of younger adults up to age 49.
The CDC says that anyone 6 months of age or older should get at least one update dose of the vaccine starting in September, and that anyone 65 years of age or older who has been four months since their first update dose should get two doses.
People who are immunocompromised can receive an additional renewal dose two months after their last recommended dose and can talk to their health care provider about whether further doses are needed.
A new COVID-19 vaccine formula is expected to be released in the fall, and the CDC recommended Thursday that everyone 6 months of age or older should get the 2024-25 version of the vaccine once it becomes available, likely starting in September.
“Our number one recommendation to protect yourself and your loved ones from respiratory illness is to get vaccinated,” CDC Director Mandy Cohen said in a statement. “Make plans for you and your family to get both up-to-date flu and COVID vaccines this fall, ahead of the respiratory virus season.”