Los Angeles County reported the highest number of hospitalizations in a single day Sunday, setting another grim record in the pandemic.
Nearly 4,100 patients have died from COVID-19, and 155,887 people have tested positive, according to the Department of Public Health. On Sunday, officials reported another 11 deaths.
Currently, there are 2,216 people hospitalized for complications stemming from COVID-19 — more patients reported than on any other day during the pandemic, health officials said. That record surpasses the county’s last all-time high of 2,193 hospitalizations on Wednesday.
“We continue to reach concerning milestones and today we are seeing the highest number of COVID-19 hospitalizations,” County Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement Sunday.
“Right now, young adults are being hospitalized at a rate not seen before,” Ferrer said.
More than half of Sunday’s 2,848 additional cases involve patients under the age of 41, reflecting a trend seen over the last month of rising infection and hospitalization rates among younger adults, according to health officials.
Last week, Ferrer said patients between 18 and 40 years old were being hospitalized at a “significantly higher rate,” making up nearly 30% of all hospitalizations.
A total of 77,000 people under 41 have been infected with coronavirus, which is about 52% of all cases, according to health officials.
The last time L.A. County saw a record-setting number of hospitalizations was Wednesday, when Ferrer said the climbing rates serve as “evidence” the region “should probably expect to see an increase in deaths in the coming days and weeks.”
“We are in an alarming and dangerous phase in this pandemic here in L.A. County,” she said.
Correction: A previous version of this story provided an incorrect figure for the number of COVID-19 deaths confirmed. This post has been updated.