{"id":138,"date":"2021-01-15T11:53:34","date_gmt":"2021-01-15T11:53:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsupnow.org\/?p=138"},"modified":"2024-02-08T00:53:14","modified_gmt":"2024-02-08T00:53:14","slug":"138","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsupnow.org\/news\/138\/","title":{"rendered":"COVID dangers intensify: California now in \u2018deep dark part of the tunnel,\u2019 top health official says"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.22″ width=”97.2%” min_height=”107.7px” custom_margin=”0px|52px|-122px|||” custom_padding=”7px|6px||||”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.8.0″ _module_preset=”default” min_height=”141px” custom_margin=”-7px|42px||auto||”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.8.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.8.0″ _module_preset=”default” width=”98.9%” min_height=”158px” custom_margin=”0px|-314px|-1px|188px||” custom_padding=”7px|210px||7px||”]<\/p>\n

California moved into a dangerous new phase of the coronavirus pandemic in the new year’s first week as besieged hospitals ran short of oxygen<\/a> and the state’s COVID-19 cases rose to more than 2.4 million. <\/p>\n

Six cases involving the more infectious U.K. coronavirus strain have been reported<\/a> in Southern California. Los Angeles’ mayor said Sunday<\/a> that the city’s residents are being infected at a rate of one every six seconds. The state has the second highest rate<\/a> of cases per 100,000 people, after Arizona, according to the COVID Tracking Project. <\/p>\n

Gov. Gavin Newsom described the state’s current situation as a “surge on top of a surge†at a briefing today, noting that hospitalizations have increased seven-fold in the past two months. COVID-19 “is more deadly today than any time in this pandemic’s history,†he said.<\/p>\n

Over the past seven days, an average of 37,845 COVID-19 cases have been reported each day. Over the next three weeks, another 6,286 Californians are projected to die from COVID-19, according to the state’s epidemiological forecasts.<\/p>\n

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and state Emergency Medical Services staff have been deployed to hospitals to bolster their capacity to offer oxygen to patients with damaged lungs, Newsom said. The state is procuring more oxygen containers and also will adapt its 42 medical disaster support units to provide oxygen. <\/p>\n

“COVID fatigue and resentment is certainly at play here,†said Dr. Mark Ghaly, the state’s top health official, at today’s news conference. “The activities you did a month ago are now just so much more risky. We do believe the stay-at-home order did make an important difference in the past few weeks, to … flatten the curve just a little bit.â€<\/p>\n