40 New COVID-19 Infections Detected in Pasadena; Nearly 4,000 Reported Across L.A. County

Pasadena health officials documented 40 new COVID-19 infections in the city on Wednesday, while county officials reported nearly 4,000 new cases and 36 additional deaths.

No new fatalities were reported in Pasadena, where the death toll stood 130, and total cases were tallied at 3,200, according to city data.

Common themes among recent cases included younger adults socializing and attending parties, people seemingly becoming laxer about hanging out with family members living outside the household, and “asymptomatic cases that do not believe their results are accurate and are not quarantining, and traveling,” said city spokeswoman Lisa Derderian.

At Huntington Hospital, officials reported treating 36 COVID-19 patients on Wednesday.

L.A. County Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer announced 3,944 new infections, representing the most cases reported in a single day since mid-July. Thirty-six new fatalities were announced.

In total, the county had recorded 348,336 infections and 7,335 deaths since the start of the pandemic, Ferrer said.

“The current surge in cases is highly evident, and has been particularly pronounced since Nov. 1,” she said. “On that day, the average daily cases were a little over 1,100… today, we’re almost at 4,000 cases. I cannot stress enough how concerning this is.”

Across the county, 1,188 patients were hospitalized with COVID-19 on Wednesday, according to Ferrer. “This represents nine days of a continued increase in the numbers of people hospitalized.”

In another grim sign, L.A. County’s positivity rate had reached 7.1 percent, up from 5.1 percent on Nov. 8 and 3.9 percent on Nov. 1, she said.

At the state level, authorities announced 9,811 new fatalities and 61 deaths on Wednesday, bringing California’s totals to 1,047,789 COVID-19 cases and 18,360 fatalities.

The statewide positivity rate over the prior seven days was measured at 5.3 percent, while the 14-day average was 4.8 percent, according to the California Department of Public Health.

As of Wednesday, Los Angeles County accounted for 33 percent of California’s COVID-19 infections and 40 percent of the state’s deaths.