New alarms over the Delta variant as L.A.’s coronavirus surge worsens
LA TimesThe coronavirus surge fueled by the Delta variant in Los Angeles County continues to worsen, according to new data released Thursday. The Los Angeles County Public Health Department announced 3,248 new cases, adding that the daily average case rate rose to 15.7 per 100,000 people, compared with 12.9 cases per 100,000 people last week. The science on this variant shows that it is different from earlier variants of COVID: It replicates faster and more efficiently in respiratory tract cells, which means that infected people may now spread up to 1,000 times more virus particles with every cough, sneeze or shout than they did a year ago,” L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement Thursday. From July 14 to July 20, the average coronavirus case rate among unvaccinated Californians was 20.7 per 100,000 people per day — about six times the comparable rate of vaccinated individuals, according to state health officials. The New York Times reported quoted CDC Director Rochelle Walensky as confirming evidence that vaccinated people with breakthrough infections could spread the virus to others.