LA County Reports 167 Mu Variant Cases, Hospitalizations Down

ANGELS – The number of coronavirus patients in Los Angeles County hospitals continued to decline on Monday, from 1,480 on Sunday to 1,463, according to the latest state figures.

The number of these intensive care patients also declined, from 433 to 412.

The latest figures came as county health officials reported 11 more deaths associated with the virus and 1,540 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the county total to 1,420,560 cases and 25,456 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Monday’s number of cases and deaths likely reflects the reporting delays over the weekend, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

Meanwhile, authorities have also confirmed the presence of the so-called Mu variant of the virus, which is described as highly contagious and potentially able to evade vaccines.

The county health department has detected 167 cases of Variant Mu, all between June 19 and August 21, most of which were found in July.

PREVIOUS COVER: COVID-19 Mu variant detected in LA County, Health Department reports

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The Mu variant – officially labeled a “variant of interest” by the World Health Organization – was first discovered in Colombia in January and has since been detected in 39 countries.

Some initial reviews of the variant indicated that it has the potential to escape currently available vaccines. But in a statement released Friday, county health officials said “more studies are needed to determine whether the Mu variant is more contagious, deadly, or more resistant to vaccines and treatments than other strains of COVID. -19 “.

The Delta variant remains the dominant COVID-19 strain circulating in the county, public health director Barbara Ferrer said Thursday it represents almost all cases that undergo the sequencing necessary to identify specific viral mutations. Delta is described as a “variant of concern” by the WHO.

“The identification of variants like Mu and the spread of variants around the world underscore the need for LA County residents to continue to take steps to protect themselves and others,” Ferrer said. “This is what makes vaccination and layered protections so important. These are actions that break the chain of transmission and limit the spread of COVID-19 which allows the virus to mutate into something that could be more dangerous.”

Ferrer noted Thursday that the county had started to see a decrease in the rate of new infections. According to Ferrer, the seven-day cumulative rate of new cases in the county was 159 per 100,000 residents last week, down 16% from the previous week and 22% from the peak of 204 per 100 000 inhabitants in mid-August.

The rate of people testing positive for the virus in the county rose to 3.3% on Friday, from 2.97% a day earlier.

Of eligible county residents aged 12 and older, 75% have received at least one dose of the vaccine, while 65% are fully immunized.

Boasting again the effectiveness of vaccines, Ferrer said that of the nearly 5.3 million people who were fully vaccinated on Tuesday, 37,614 tested positive for the virus, for a rate of 0.71%, while 1,049 were hospitalized, a rate of 0.02%. . Of those fully vaccinated, 118 died, for a rate of 0.0022%.

According to the county health department, about 90% of all local deaths associated with COVID-19 were in people with an underlying health condition. The most common conditions were hypertension (present in 55% of deaths), diabetes (43%) and heart disease (29%).

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