LA County health director: small gatherings also fueling increase in cases

By Emily Jo Wharry Contributing Writer

As the holiday season approaches, L.A. County health officials warned Angelenos that small gatherings with friends or extended family still pose a risk of transmission. “We’re pretty convinced at this point that these smaller gatherings … are in fact fueling a lot of the increase because they’re just not as safe as we would like to believe they are,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. — ABC Los Angeles

With 2,065 new coronavirus infections recorded today in L.A. County, the region reaches a daily case count not seen since Aug. 15. According to public health officials, the current spike is not associated with any backlog of reported tests. — Los Angeles Times

Evidence shows COVID-19 can wreak havoc on a patient’s vascular system, specifically, in the cells that line blood vessels. According to Roger Seheult, a pulmonary physician in Southern California, it’s not patients with underlying lung conditions that are the most vulnerable to COVID-19, instead, it’s patients who are obese, have Type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure. — NPR

Masked pedestrians wait at a bus stop in Koreatown. Photo by Afonso Salcedo.