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Los Angeles County health officials are asking essential workers to wear face coverings inside their own homes in a bid to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in an area where the virus is killing someone every seven minutes.
Barbara Ferrer, the Los Angeles County director of public health, said Monday that 'because there is so much spread, we're recommending that people wear their face coverings while they're inside the home'.
Ferrer said that includes anyone who is leaving their home every day for work or running errands for family members. She said it's especially important for people who leave for work everyday and live with elderly residents or with residents who have an underlying medical condition.
She said it will 'add a layer of protection while we get through this surge'.
Los Angeles County is an epicenter for the COVID-19 outbreak, accounting for some 40 per cent of California's virus-related deaths and a huge number of new cases.
On Monday, nearly 8,000 people were hospitalized in Los Angeles County, which had fewer than 50 intensive care units available in an area with a population of 10 million people, said Dr Christina Ghaly, county director of Health Services.
There is a sliver of hope, with new hospitalizations statewide down from about 3,500 a day earlier this month to about 2,500. Some forecasts have predicted the hospitalizations will level off by the end of the month.
While the county saw a dip in new cases, Ferrer, said that probably is due to decreased testing after the New Year's holiday.
She predicted another increase in cases from people who gathered together unsafely over the holiday.
Ferrer said COVID-19 is still killing someone in the county every seven minutes, on average. Deaths increased from 12 deaths a day in early-November to more than 200 daily reported deaths last week.
'Now is not the time to meet with friends at your home to watch the game. It is not the time to go for a walk without a mask. All it takes is one mistake and soon, five, 10 or 20 other people become infected - many of whom could be your friends, family members, or colleagues,' Ferrer said in a statement.
'This deadly virus continues to spread at alarming rates and the most important way to stop it in its tracks is to avoid interactions with others and protect ourselves at all times,' she added.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has reported 932,697 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of LA County and a total of 12,387 deaths.
Meanwhile, California as a whole is transforming baseball stadiums, fairgrounds and even a Disneyland Resort parking lot into mass vaccination sites as the coronavirus surge overwhelms hospitals.
California's COVID-19 death toll reached 30,000 on Monday, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.
It took six months for the nation's most populous state to reach 10,000 deaths but barely a month to jump from 20,000 to 30,000 deaths. California ranks third nationally for COVID-19-related deaths, behind Texas and New York, which is No. 1 with nearly 40,000.
Public health officials have estimated about 12 per cent of those who catch the virus will require hospital care, usually several weeks after infection as they get sicker.
