COVID cases, hospitalizations increasing in Los Angeles County

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Los Angeles County are on the rise, according to the latest data.

The L.A. County Department of Public Health reported Thursday there were about 121 new cases per day in the county. That number is up from the 106 cases per day reported June 6.

Those numbers are believed to be an undercount due to the availability of at-home COVID-19 testing, according to the county Public Health department.

Hospitalizations are also up to 126 patients a day. The previous number stood at 102.

"With traveling and gatherings increasing during summer, protection from COVID-19 infection remains important as a new group of variants has begun to circulate nationwide," the county Public Health department said in its most recent statement.

The health department said the so-called FLiRT variants, including KP.2 and KP.3 variants, are causing an increasing proportion of cases in the U.S.