The number of coronavirus patients in Los Angeles County hospitals has fallen below 400 for the first time since May, according to the latest state figures out Wednesday, Oct. 21.
There are 379 COVID-positive patients at county hospitals, down from 403 on Tuesday. Of those patients, 51 were being treated in intensive care, down two from the previous day. County officials have said that roughly 40% of COVID-positive patients were admitted specifically for COVID, while the others were hospitalized for other reasons but tested positive upon admission.
Also Wednesday, local health officials reported an additional 2,339 COVID-19 cases and 33 new virus-related deaths covering a three-day span since Monday, following a technical issue that prevented Monday’s and Tuesday’s infection and fatality numbers from being tallied earlier.
The new cases lifted the county’s overall total from throughout the pandemic to 3,474,708 cases and 33,862 deaths, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. The official number of cases reported each day is believed to be an undercount of actual virus activity in the county, due to the prevalent use of at-home tests that are not always reported.
The daily positivity rate was 4.1%, up from 3.8% last Thursday.
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