And in Los Angeles County, there’s cautious optimism that the days of exponential growth may be in the rearview mirror. Out of five state-defined regions, two — the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California — have estimated effective transmission rates are below 1.0. California Growing signs Omicron is leveling off in California While California continues to see disturbing rises in COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths, there are some early signs the Omicron wave is slowing. California California approaches pandemic record for all hospitalizations Last week, California averaged 52,000 hospital patients daily, just under the 55,000 hospitalized for all reasons during last winter’s COVID-19 surge. Children’s Hospital of Orange County earlier this week reported 15 pediatric COVID-19 patients, the highest number across the pandemic.

Source: Los Angeles Times January 21, 2022 05:15 UTC