Culver City Observer -

Los Angeles County broke more Covid-19 records this week as it continues to report more than 200 deaths daily and a "huge strain on the emergency medical system."

Public Health announced that 11,328 people have died from coronavirus in Los Angeles County, including 45 in Culver City. It also confirmed a record 8,023 people with Covid-19 are currently hospitalized and 20% of them are in the ICU.

As of press time, the number of Culver City residents with Covid-19 has spiked to 1420 cases, a 170% increase in the past 6 weeks. Coronavirus-related deaths also rose by 75% over the same period – from 26 reported in November to 45 yesterday, according County Health Department reported.

County-wide, the total infected with coronavirus stands at 852,165. On Wednesday, Public Health reported 258 new deaths and 11,841 new cases of Covid-19.

Public health officials said the rate of infection in January "is translating into a disastrous increase" in the number of people with severe Covid-19 symptoms ending up local hospitals and "creating a huge strain on the emergency medical system."

"This is a health crisis of epic proportions," said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. "I am more troubled than ever before, and in part, my concern is rooted in the reality that it will take so much more for us to slow the spread given the high rate of community spread. We are very appreciative that so many of you are doing the right thing. We are grateful for your perseverance, diligence and patience."

Ferrer continued: "In Los Angeles County, we have doubled the number of people passing away each day, and this reality has upended all aspects of our healthcare delivery system. Our tragedy continues until we get it together to change our actions. Each of us has a choice to make; we can protect and care for each other or we can exacerbate the desperate situation in front of us."

Testing results are available for nearly 4,850,000 individuals with 17% of people testing positive. Over the past 6 weeks, the test positivity rate has increased 5-fold, from around 3.5% to just over 21.8% yesterday. "This is very significant because it means one in five people who are tested are carrying the Covid-19 virus and can expose others to this disease," said health officials.