More than 8,100 new COVID-19 infections have been reported in Los Angeles in the past three days, again increasing the average daily number of new infections, but virus-related deaths remain low and hospitalizations are relatively stable, health officials said Monday. May 16.

The county registered 3,489 new cases on Saturday, 2,707 on Sunday and 1,941 on Monday, for a total of 8,137. The county no longer issues case numbers on weekends.

The new cases gave the county a total of 2,915,694 for the entire pandemic.

According to the Department of Health, the average daily number of new cases reported in the last seven days was 2,944, up from 1,074 a month ago. The sharp increase in the number of infections is primarily due to the infectious subvariant of the BA.2 virus. BA.2 is a branch of the Omicron variant that caused a winter surge in cases.

Los Angeles County is also seeing an increase in cases related to the BA.2.12.1 branch of BA.2. According to the county, this branch accounted for about 12% of local cases that underwent specialized testing to identify options during the week ended April 23.

Although the incidence has been steadily rising for several weeks, the number of viral patients in county hospitals has remained relatively stable. But those numbers have risen over the past week, again exceeding 300 last weekend, but they were still well below the 8,000 patients registered during the winter surge.

As of Monday, there were 312 virus-positive patients in district hospitals, up from 318 on Sunday. Of these patients, 44 were treated in intensive care, compared with 37 the day before.

The county reported 15 deaths in the three-day period, which ended on Monday, increasing the death toll from the virus to 32,037. Over the past week, the county has averaged six deaths a day, up from 11 a day a month ago.

Health officials pointed to many factors in the absence of a sharp increase in hospitalizations and deaths amid rising COVID numbers. They primarily refer to the large number of people vaccinated against the virus, as well as the number of previously infected people who maintain a level of immunity. The presence of medications designed to reduce the impact of infections is also considered a factor.

However, County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer continued to warn that while hospitalization and deaths have not risen sharply, continued spread of the virus could lead to more infectious and dangerous options.