Los Angeles County public health officials on Saturday reported 527 new coronavirus cases and 29 related deaths, noting that the daily test positivity rate of 0.9% is the lowest since the pandemic began more than a year ago. The daily positivity rate is defined as the percentage of all coronavirus tests reported that are positive, officials said. Currently, there are 498 people with COVID-19 who are hospitalized, with 23% of those in intensive care, officials said. Meanwhile, Orange County’s Health Care Agency on Saturday reported 80 new COVID-19 cases and five related deaths, bringing the region’s total to 252,884 cases and 4,891 deaths since the pandemic began. The rate of partial vaccinations for all those 16 and older was about 50%, according to state figures released Friday.

Source: Los Angeles Times April 18, 2021 01:52 UTC