L.A. County health officials announce increased COVID-19 testing services as the Omicron variant causes a holiday surge in coronavirus cases.
With coronavirus cases soaring, L.A. County health officials announced Friday that they are expanding COVID-19 testing services, including the relaunch of an at-home test collection program.
County health officials said that demand for testing has climbed as residents prepare for holiday celebrations. The county’s testing positivity rate has reached 9.6%, up from 4.6 % on Tuesday, officials said. The county health department is also relaunching a holiday home test collection program whereby residentsOn Friday, the county reported 9,988 new cases, compared with 8,633 on Thursday and 6,509 on Wednesday. Cases have been rising dramatically this week. On Tuesday, the county was recording 3,052 cases.released Thursday by the California Department of Public Health, at least three California health systems have reported that Omicron appears to account for 50% to 70% of new cases.
Officials said they hope to avoid new shutdown rules and believe the best chance of controlling Omicron is with vaccinations and booster shots as well as safety protocols such as indoor mask wearing.
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