Over 8,000 people are not coming home to their families.
On Wednesday, Los Angeles County health director Dr. Barbara Ferrer teared up as she reported the devastating number of deaths as a result of COVID-19.
“Over 8,000 people who were beloved members of their families are not coming back. And their deaths are an incalculable loss to their friends and their family as well as our community,” Ferrer said after getting chocked up mid-sentence.
The average number of daily deaths has risen from 12 per day in the beginning of November to 43 per day the last week, which is a startling increase of 258% in a little over a month.
Wednesday alone saw 75 deaths, showing that the numbers are only set to rise further as we get closer to Christmas. There were 9,000 new cases and hospitalizations are at a record high with 3,299 people in L.A. County hospitals with COVID-19. The SoCal region is currently under a stay-at-home order as the region dropped below the state’s 15% threshold of available ICU beds available. It’s currently at 9%.
“Since these deaths reflect our case counts from a month ago, as cases have continued to increase the past few weeks, we will bear witness to a significant rise in the number of people who are dying,” Ferrer said.
Where we are and where we’re headed is alarming.
However, there are things we can do to slow the surge:
– Cancel travel plans
– Don’t see people you don’t live with
– ALWAYS wear a face covering when outside your homeWe can do this together. pic.twitter.com/v06ukC57Bi
— LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) December 9, 2020
The LA Public Health Department has urged residents to stay home as much as possible and avoid interactions with anyone outside of households.
Featured Image: Bret Kavanaugh via Unsplash