Los Angeles Residents Warned Not to Leave Home as COVID Deaths Top 11,000

Covid 19 Los Angeles Specimen (Credit: Shutterstock)

Los Angeles County reached another grim milestone Tuesday, with COVID-related deaths climbing past 11,000.

Another 224 people lost their lives to the virus in the past 24 hours, according to the latest data from the L.A. County Department of Public Health. Those numbers pushed the death toll to 11,071 since the pandemic began.

“As a community, we must commit to stopping the spread of COVID-19 in its tracks so that we can save as many lives as possible,” L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement.

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The county also recorded 13,512 new confirmed cases on Tuesday, pushing the total number of people who have tested positive to 840,611.

“While vaccines are a powerful tool, we do not need to wait for a vaccine to stop new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and death,” Ferrer added. “We can do that now. It takes every business and every resident to purposefully follow public health directives and safety measures. Please stay home and leave only for essential work or essential services.”

The staggering numbers came out the same day the Grammy Awards were moved from Jan. 21 to March because of the surge in the Los Angeles area.

“After thoughtful conversations with health experts, our host and artists scheduled to appear, we are rescheduling the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards to be broadcast Sunday, March 14, 2021,” Grammys organizers said in a joint statement. “The deteriorating COVID situation in Los Angeles, with hospital services being overwhelmed, ICUs having reached capacity, and new guidance from state and local governments have all led us to conclude that postponing our show was the right thing to do.”

Health officials blame the post-holiday spike on people gathering for Christmas and New Year’s Eve, despite warnings to stay at home, wear masks, and only be around members of the same household.

Despite the growing concern of spiking cases, maskless protesters continue to stage gatherings across Southern California defying public health guidelines. One demonstration which occurred right before the Christmas holiday was put on by former Growing Pains actor Kirk Cameron.

Local station KTLA reported on another demonstration on Sunday in which a group of maskless protesters harassed some employees and customers at a Ralph’s grocery store and the Westfield Century City mall near Beverly Hills.