Deadliest days of the pandemic: COVID-19 kills nearly 15,000 in California in January
LA TimesHospital chaplain Anne Dauchy places her hand on the body of a COVID-19 patient as she talks on the phone with the family of the patient. More Californians died of COVID-19 in January than any other month of the pandemic, data from The Times tracker show, with L.A. County continuing to bear the brunt of the virus’ toll. Calling it a “critical moment in the pandemic,” L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said Monday it was important that the public not relax, even though some numbers have improved and restrictions have been lifted. “It’s only by the actions that each business and each individual in L.A. County takes that we’re going to see this continued reduction in transmission.” The L.A. County surge peaked in early January, Ferrer said, after which the average number of daily deaths from COVID-19 dropped by about 33%. “Although some restrictions were just lifted in our county, we are still in a very dangerous period in terms of cases, hospitalizations and deaths.” The last time hospitals were able to offer their full range of services was at the beginning of November, when there were fewer than 900 COVID-19 patients in L.A. County facilities, Ferrer said Monday, adding: “While we’re headed in the right direction, we still again have a ways to go before our hospitals are not overcrowded and healthcare workers are not stressed.” The latest data show that the most recent surge was again driven by younger adults but caused the greatest hospitalizations and deaths among the most elderly residents.