Intensive care unit beds across Southern California are plummeting to critical levels, with capacity falling to 1% in Ventura County and 0% in Riverside County while Los Angeles County — home to 10 million people — had fewer than 100 beds available. L.A. County has more than 4,400 people hospitalized with COVID-19, and officials said that number could rise to 5,000 by the weekend. “Our reality is frightening at the moment,” L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said. AdvertisementIn L.A. County, COVID-19 hospitalizations are now six times higher than they were in mid-October. There are roughly 500 new daily COVID-19 hospital admissions in L.A. County, and that number could exceed 700 in a week, Ghaly said.

Source: Los Angeles Times December 15, 2020 16:29 UTC