New daily cases in Los Angeles soar above 16,000 amid Delta, Omicron surge

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- With Delta and Omicron transmissions surging, Los Angeles County on Wednesday reported 16,510 new COVID-19 cases, one of its highest single-day counts, local public health authorities said.

Test positivity rates in the most populous U.S. county have more than doubled from 8.7 percent in the previous week to 17.6 percent, and daily hospitalizations have jumped by over 30 percent with 1,069 people currently hospitalized in the county.

In the week ending Dec. 18, 54 percent of sequenced positive cases in the county were Omicron variants, said the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health in a daily release.

The department also reported 25 additional deaths from COVID-19, bringing the county's death toll to 27,601.

"Keeping family members, the community, and those most vulnerable safe from the quickly spreading Omicron and Delta variants is of paramount importance," said the department in the release, urging residents to scale down New Year's plans by limiting gatherings to a very small number of people where everyone is fully vaccinated and boosted if eligible.