Los Angeles County Surpasses 1M COVID Cases

The individual found to have contracted the virus is a male, who recently spent time in Los Angeles County but has travelled to OR, where he is now in quarantine.

The South Coast AQMD therefore issued an emergency order on Sunday, which lifts the limitations on crematoriums for at least the next 10 days in order to help with the backlog of bodies filling up mortuaries and hospital morgues due to deaths caused by the Wuhan virus.

14,669 new cases were added on Saturday, taking the total for Los Angeles County up to 1,003,923 cases. One person dies from the coronavirus in the county every six minutes, reports say, with more than 13,800 people having died since the beginning of the pandemic. "We are in the midst of a public health emergency so please do everything you can to protect yourselves and those you love", Ferrer finished. Business Insider reports hospitals were running out of oxygen and that a coffin manufacturer was struggling with a wood shortage because of increased demand.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District said in a press release Sunday that it is suspending certain permit conditions for crematoriums at the request of the county's medical-examiner coroner and public health department.

The emergency order, which took effect on January 17, lasts for ten days but can be extended if needed.

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"The current rate of death is more than double that of pre-pandemic years, leading to hospitals, funeral homes, and crematoriums exceeding capacity without the ability to process the backlog of cases", officials said.

Los Angeles County has reported 13,848 deaths from COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and more than 1 million cases overall.

The agency said all other air-quality rule requirements would remain in effect during its lift on cremation restrictions.

Another five COVID-19 vaccination sites have opened in L.A. County, capable of distributing 4,000 doses each day once fully operational.