COVID-19 cases almost 10 times higher in Los Angeles area than one month ago

COVID-19 cases in the Los Angeles area are almost 10 times higher than they were one month ago as the omicron variant spreads rapidly in the city.

On Monday, Los Angeles County reported 31,576 new coronavirus cases, the Los Angeles Times reported. Last month on Dec. 17, the county recorded 3,360 new cases. 

The daily positivity rate in Los Angeles is at 6 percent, up 4 percent from a month ago. More than 4,560 people are now hospitalized from COVID-19, up from 770 individuals in December. The county also recorded 27 COVID-19 deaths Monday.

L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer pointed to the disproportionately higher affects COVID-19 has on Black and Latino communities while discussing the increase in COVID-19 cases on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, according to the Times

“On this national holiday where we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, we remember his deep commitment to health equity,” said Ferrer. “As Reverend King memorably said, ‘Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and the most inhuman because it often results in physical death.’”

Ferrer said “the impact of racism, historical disinvestment and social marginalization” is the cause of the inequity. 

The large increase in cases comes a week after Los Angeles surpassed 2 million COVID-19 cases throughout the pandemic.