Los Angeles County’s COVID-19 Positive Rate at 1%, Lowest Since Pandemic Begins

LOS ANGELES (KABC) – The average daily rate of people who tested positive for the coronavirus in Los Angeles County dropped to 1% on Friday, the province’s lowest since the start of the pandemic.

The rate peaked at more than 20% in December.

The number comes as the province says nearly 5,400,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to people across the region. According to the province, 41% of the population aged 16 and over received at least one dose of vaccine.

Dr Paul Simon, chief scientific officer of the public health department, said the province should still have 80% of the population vaccinated by the end of June. He noted that from 4 to 11 April, 670 000 doses were administered in the country, for an average of almost 100 000 per day.

Even with the interruption of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, more than half of California received at least one dose.

In LA County, hospitalizations dropped to less than 500 on Friday, with a small increase from this week – a good sign because other parts of the country are still increasing their numbers.

The county also reported an additional 36 COVID-19 deaths on Friday, bringing the cumulative death toll during the pandemic to 23,601.

Another 643 cases were also reported by the country, pushing the overall pandemic to 1,228,114.

City News Service contributed to this report.