California approaching 1 million COVID-19 cases

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- California is close to hitting the unfortunate milestone of 1 million coronavirus cases, as lines at testing sites grow longer and the warnings become more dire.

As of Wednesday, the state was about 7,000 cases short of hitting that 1 million mark, one that was recently reached by the state of Texas.

In Los Angeles, the city is responding to the new surge in COVID-19 by expanding hours at testing sites and increasing the number of tests available. At Dodger Stadium, the city's biggest site, cars are lined up around the parking lot and the hours have been expanded to 8 a.m. through 8 p.m.

The city says 30,000 tests per day are now available at testing sites.

Los Angeles County has now seen more than 7,200 deaths from the virus.

And frontline health workers continue to struggle seeing their patients slip away.

"It's just hard to see somebody passing in front of your eyes," said Nancy Roberts, a respiratory therapist in Idaho.

States across the country are seeing increases in hospitalizations, ICU admissions and ventilator use.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti says the spike may be driven by gatherings that included infected people who may not be showing symptoms

"Those actions have made a patchwork of hotspots that could soon blanket our city," Garcetti said.

The city is urging anyone who may have been exposed to get tested and stay away from others who may be vulnerable.

California state officials say if the trends continue, many of the state's counties will move back onto the most restrictive tier for activities.