Even as the winter Omicron surge flattens, Los Angeles County health officials are urging the public to continue avoiding nonessential gatherings, saying coronavirus transmission remains at one of the highest levels ever seen in the 2-year-old pandemic’s history. The overall number of coronavirus-positive patients in the hospital in California climbed 15% in the last week, reaching 15,383 on Thursday. Some of the state’s most-populous counties — including L.A., San Diego, San Bernardino, Orange and Riverside — also recorded slight day-over-day decreases in their patient counts. “The health system is really, really overtaxed,” said Dr. Clayton Chau, the Orange County health officer and director of the county Health Care Agency. “People who got infected with Delta, it turns out, have high reinfection rates with Omicron,” Ferrer said.

Source: Los Angeles Times January 21, 2022 20:00 UTC