The number of virus-positive patients in local hospitals, however, remained low.
Continuing an upward trend in infections, Los Angeles County reported more than 3,000 new COVID-19 infections today, but the number of virus-positive patients in local hospitals remained low.
The rolling average daily rate of people testing positive for the virus was 2.2% as of Thursday, roughly the same as the previous day. Barbara Ferrer noted Wednesday that the BA.2 variant of COVID-19 and its offshoots now represent 96% of all local COVID infections that underwent special testing to identify variants. BA.2 is a subvariant of the Omicron strain of the virus that caused a sharp surge in cases during the winter months. The county, however, is already seeing rising numbers of cases identified as BA.2.12.1, which is an offshoot of BA.2. That offshoot now represents 8% of cases tested in the county, she said.