The average daily positive COVID-19 cases have seen an increase of 180% from a month ago in Los Angeles County.

Los Angeles County Public Health recorded a daily average 2,532 positive cases over the past seven days, which is 180% increase over the 950 daily cases last month.

Public Health also stated that 100% of sequenced positive cases were linked to the Omicron variant and 96% of those being of BA.2 lineage.

About 8% of a newer Omicron sub-lineage has been found in L.A. County in BA.1.12.1, which is believed to be 25% more transmissible than the BA.2 variant.

While positive COVID-19 cases continue to increase since the lifting of mask mandates, Public Health noted that hospitalizations and deaths have not followed the upward trend.

“To date, the increases in case numbers have not translated to increases in severe illness, with hospitalizations and deaths remaining low and decreasing,” Public Health said in a media statement. “Over the last seven days, the average number of hospitalized cases per day was 245, similar to hospitalization numbers one month ago.”

Deaths have actually decreased from a month ago by 72%, wit an average of four daily deaths a day this past week, compared to 14.

Public Health Director, Dr. Barbara Ferrer noted in a May 6 media update that she believes activities can still be done safely and it may not be necessary to revert to past restrictions.

“People need to be cautious and careful and have a good time, knowing that you don’t want to wreck that good time by becoming sick, or getting somebody else sick,” Ferrer said. “I want everyone to absolutely enjoy those extracurricular activities, but we still have to do them with some safety precautions in mind.”

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.