by COURIER staff

Over the past few weeks, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has reported a steady increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, and on Wednesday, November 30, it reported an astonishing 4,353 new cases.

There were 2,370 new cases reported on Tuesday, and 5,414 over the weekend, which includes Monday’s cases.

The increased case count is concerning, but it does not reflect the actual state of the current surge in infections because many people — if not most — now test at home and do not report positive results to the county.

The daily positivity rate, which health officials have said is a better indicator of the severity of the local outbreak, has increased nearly 50% over the past week from 10.2% to 14.7%.

Daily hospitalizations have also gone up dramatically from 794 last week to 1,132 on Wednesday. Fortunately, deaths have remained relatively low with nine reported Tuesday and 10 on Wednesday.

This week’s spike in Covid numbers is eerily reminiscent of the run up to 2021’s miserable Omicron surge, when the positivity rate and new daily new cases in Los Angeles County surged in December, reaching 22.4% and 22,091, respectively, on New Year’s Eve. The surge would peak on January 9 of this year, when 45,584 L.A. County residents tested positive for Covid.

In response to the rise in infections, Public Health announced last week that it strongly recommends wearing a mask indoors or when around large crowds.

Here in Claremont the county is now reporting 9,379 cumulative cases and 99 deaths. In April, the last time the COURIER reported on the pandemic, Claremont had 7,062 cases and 86 deaths.

The county has reported 3,542,744 cumulative cases since the beginning of the pandemic and 34,187 deaths.