LA County reports 8,860 new COVID-19 cases, shattering daily record again

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Los Angeles County reported 8,860 new coronavirus cases on Friday, a daily count that shatters the previous record set on Thursday.

The new daily number breaks the previous record of 7,854. It is the third time in four days L.A. County reported a record number of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases.

The county is also reporting another 60 deaths, and the number of people hospitalized due to the virus has risen again, reaching 2,668, the highest level of the entire pandemic.

Two weeks ago, the county's average number of daily deaths was 21, and of the 2,668 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized, 24% are in the ICU, public health officials said.

"This is the fourth consecutive day the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 surpassed the all-time high; this is a doubling from two weeks ago when daily hospitalizations were 1,298," L.A. County Department of Public Health said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the positivity rate has reached 14.85%.

During a coronavirus briefing, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti urged residents to stay home and follow physical distancing guidelines when outside.

"If we stay on this case trajectory, L.A. is projected to reach half a million cases by the years end - 1 out of 20 people here," Garcetti said. "If things don't change by years end, the lives lost will surpass 11,000 deaths. That means 3,000 additional deaths in a single month. To put things in perspective, it's a decade of homicides."

"This is the greatest threat to life in Los Angeles that we have ever faced," the mayor added.

The staggering new case numbers came as the county and the rest of Southern California stood on the verge of falling under a state-mandated "regional stay-at-home" order that will be triggered if intensive-care unit bed availability falls below 15%.

The new numbers also come the same week the county imposed a new safer-at-home order putting limits on gatherings and capacity at businesses. The county has also shut down in-person dining at restaurants.

City News Service contributed to this report.