Los Angeles County reports more than 4,000 hospitalized for COVID-19

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Los Angeles County has again broken its own record for hospitalizations linked to COVID-19, according to numbers released Sunday.

The county reported 4,009 people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 - and 21% of them are in the ICU.

That hospitalization figure steadily climbed over the past week, reaching just under 3,000 on Dec. 7 and then jumping by 34% over the next six days.

The county also reported 12,731 new coronavirus infections on Sunday as well as 29 additional deaths for a cumulative total of 8,298 deaths since the pandemic began.

Orange County hospitals are treating more than 1,200 COVID-19 patients. The county reported more than 3,000 new cases and has exceeded 100,000 since the pandemic started.

The state of California reported more than 30,000 new cases of the virus on Sunday.

The Southern California region has an available ICU capacity of just 4.2%, according to state officials. The state has set 15% ICU capacity as the threshold for a region to be placed under the current stricter stay-at-home orders.