Coronavirus cases continue upswing in L.A. County amid concerns about Delta variant

The resurgence of the coronavirus in Los Angeles County, fueled by the highly contagious Delta variant, continued Sunday with 3,045 new cases and five more deaths tallied, according to county public health officials.

Authorities cautioned, however, that the latest figures might not be complete because of reporting delays on weekends.

More than 1,000 people are now hospitalized with the virus in L.A. County, according to the latest update issued by the county Department of Public Health.

The new statistics bring the total number of COVID-19 deaths in the county to 24,685 since the pandemic began roughly a year and a half ago.

A confidential document prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and first obtained by the Washington Post outlined troubling evidence of the threat posed by the Delta variant, concluding that “the war has changed.”

Despite concerns about the increased transmissibility of the Delta variant, the federal agency found that people who are fully vaccinated are still much less likely to be hospitalized or die of COVID-19 than those who are not.

In Los Angeles County, nearly 62% of residents are at least partially vaccinated against COVID-19, according to state figures tracked by The Times. About 54.2% are fully vaccinated.