Los Angeles – California surge in cases of Coronavirus has closed schools and the exclusion of thousands of police, firefighters, teachers and health care workers but officials hope it will be short lived.
“My hope is that, you know, when we were up in February, we were on the weaknesses noticed that the large number of community transmission,” Director of the Los Angeles County Public Health Barbara Ferrer said Thursday.
The number of cases confirmed Covid 19th California has jumped five-fold in two weeks and hospitalizations has doubled.
La County, the state’s largest with 10 million population, reported more than 37,000 new cases on Thursday, the highest level since the pandemic began.
Jump driven by Varian Omicron, was first detected in California in late November.
Health officials said the close contact during holiday gatherings, especially among people who are not vaccinated, have helped spread the highly pathogenic mutation.
But vaccinations and booster shots to protect people from severe illnesses, health officials said.
Less than half of patients hospitalized with Covid-19 there because of infection.
Most hospitalized with illnesses that are not related, according to the district.
“We see this as a spike that will happen, it is our hope and trust, short-lived,” said Los Angeles police chief Michel Moore said on Thursday as the city announced that the virus is ruled out more than 800 police officers and firefighters.
Moore said it is taking an average of three weeks for officers with Covid-19 to return to work.
San Francisco reported on Tuesday that 167 officers quarantined and 135 firefighters – both representing about 8% of their troops – no because Covid-19.
San Diego has nearly 200 officers and other personnel Tuesday, reflect the same percentage of the department.
Lonjakannya also has led to await trial Covid as parents prepare to send their children back to school after winter vacation.
While millions of test kits have been distributed to the county, Gov.
Gavin Newsom and state health officials have been criticized for the backlog.
Hundreds of people waited Thursday morning, a few coughs and sneezes, at the test site in Long Beach.
“I thought it was so out of control,” said Salvador Barragan after completing his nose swab.
“I hope it’s quiet.” Not only laboratory tests are more difficult to come by in the middle of the demand, officials said they need more time to process because Covid-19 also has spent the ranks of technicians.
A processing laboratory used by the Santa Clara County have sent the samples to Texas because of a shortage of staff, Dr.
Jennifer Tong, Chief Medical Officer at the Santa Clara Valley Center, told the Bay Area News Group.
Off-shelf home tests also in short supply.
The surge in the virus have been pursuing the school system.
District officials said all 54 schools in the West Contra Costa County, east of San Francisco, will be closed Friday and Monday.
More than 5,000 students have been absent each day of the week, or nearly a quarter of those registered in the district of 28,000 students and the district believes the Coronavirus to blame, said spokesman Ryan Phillips.
One in six of San Francisco 3,600 teachers out Thursday.
Even with administrators, successors, and others stepping in there are not enough teachers for every classroom, supervisor Vince Matthews.
“This is the most challenging time in my 36 years as an educator,” Matthews said during a break from filling in as a sixth-grade science teacher.
“We are trying to educate students in the middle of the pandemic while the sand around us consistently shifted.” Nearly 900 teachers and aides in San Francisco called on Thursday.
A group of educators mention in passing, on the grounds that the school district is not enough to protect them during the surge.
They asked for more testing and for all students to wear masks medical grade.
It is unclear how many educators who are called to take part ill or has a virus or out care for family members.
Mission High School, students Jazmine Keel said more than 70 teachers joined the protest.
“So almost no subs enough to attend,” he told KTVU-TV, although district officials said classes were not interrupted.
Similar Saruh planned for Friday at the Oakland Unified School District.
In an online posting cited by the San Francisco Chronicle, the organizers said Oakland schools “facing the biggest crisis in living memory.” “Staff and students sitting in class half-empty fear that they will be the next to be infected and carry the disease home to their loved ones,” said the press release.