There has been a 25% increase in COVID cases in the county over the past week, according to Los Angeles County Health.
LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles County has noticed a notable increase in respiratory illnesses and COVID-19 cases over the past week, according to health officials.
“We see it a lot in the wintertime because we’re nearby. We’re indoors, we’re having holidays where lots of people travel and gather,” said Providence St. Joseph Medical Center ER Doctor Angelique Campen, “So it makes for the perfect storm of viruses to spread.”
According to LA County Health, there has been a 25% increase in COVID cases over the past week. While significant, officials say those numbers are still significantly lower than last winter’s peak.
“The ERs are really busy. We’re seeing a fair amount of COVID,” said Dr. Matthew Waxman, a professor of emergency medicine at UCLA. “The dominant one now is the JN.1 strain which is not causing a ton of hospitalizations in normal healthy people but, it’s making people sick.”
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And children are experiencing this spike in sickness too. While not infected with COVID-19, 5-month-old baby Elijah Adaimy is sick with a respiratory virus.
“It started with a runny nose. And then on Saturday, cough and congestion, so we got it under control,” said his mother, Kristine Adaimy.
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But if you do need medical attention, Dr. Campen offers this advice.
“Rather than get yourself up out of bed and into the ER where you’re likely to wait for many hours because of these high volumes,” said Dr. Campen, “If you feel you need medical help you may want to start at an Urgent Care.”