Good morning, SoCal. Here's what you need to know today.
Your Weather Planner
If you're liking the mild to warm temperatures, be sure to get out and enjoy today and the weekend. Temperatures inland will still be around five to 10 degrees above average, then next week, it'll cool down. We're between a ridge of high pressure to the west and an area of low pressure to the east. This pattern will lead to a slight bump in temperatures for some cities inland and the winds over the mountains and desert will decrease.
Get your 7-day forecast: LA West | LA East | San Fernando Valley/Ventura County | Orange County
Around SoCal
1. LA County Sees Another Dip in COVID Hospitalizations
The number of people hospitalized in Los Angeles County due to COVID-19 dipped again Thursday, keeping the total below 600 for the bulk of April, but health officials again urged residents to keep taking precautions against infection and to get vaccinated when eligible.
"By continuing to take action to reduce transmission and get vaccinated, we are making great progress keeping cases and hospitalizations low," Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement. "It is still too early to think we are out of the woods because, even if you have been vaccinated, many others have not yet had a chance.
According to state figures, which generally pace a day ahead of numbers provided by the county, there were 540 people hospitalized in Los Angeles County due to COVID on Thursday, down from 572 on Wednesday. There were 139 people in intensive care, up slightly from 136 on Wednesday.
Ferrer said Wednesday that while COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have continued dropping in the county, the rate of decline has slowed significantly.
2. Orange County Has Administered Over 1.5 Million COVID Vaccines
Orange County reported just 95 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, while hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients in the county decreased from 114 Wednesday to 113, with the number of intensive care unit patients dropping from 29 to 28.
The weekly update from the state, issued on Tuesdays, showed the county's test positivity rate improved from 1.7% to 1.6%, while the adjusted case rate per 100,000 people on a seven-day average with a seven-day lag increased from 2.8 last Tuesday to 3.
The county's Health Equity Quartile rate, which measures positivity in hotspots in disadvantaged communities, improved from 2.6% last week to 2.1%. The county's positivity rates qualify for the least restrictive yellow tier of the state's four-tier system for reopening the economy, but the case counts are still in the orange tier.
The county has administered 1.8 million COVID vaccine doses to residents, Orange County CEO Frank Kim said.
3. Metro Appoints Stephanie Wiggins as New CEO
Stephanie Wiggins will be the new chief executive officer of the L.A. County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, L.A. Mayor and Metro Board Chair Eric Garcetti announced Thursday.
Wiggins has served as the CEO of the Metrolink commuter rail network since January 2019 and was Metro’s Deputy CEO for ten years prior to that, helping to secure the passage of Measure M, the 2016 voter-approved ballot initiative that approved a half-cent sales tax increase to fund transportation projects.
The first woman to lead the agency, Wiggins takes the helm from current Metro CEO Phil Washington, who announced he was leaving in February. She takes over as the agency strives to recover from a 50% loss of ridership due to the pandemic and works to complete what Metro says is the most ambitious transportation infrastructure program in the country. In 2018, Metro adopted its Vision 2028 plan to transform the mobility landscape for LA County in advance of Los Angeles hosting the 2028 Olympic Games.
“L.A. County has many challenges ahead amid many exciting opportunities. The world is coming to our doorstep. Visitors are returning as our economy opens up,” Wiggins said during Thursday’s event, noting the Super Bowl and MLB All-Star games taking place in L.A. in 2022, the FIFA World Cup in 2026, and the Olympics in seven years.
Around the Nation
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Don't Miss This
Only on Spectrum News 1
Sleeping With QAnon: Sacha Baron Cohen and "Borat" Co-Star Maria Bakalova on American Society
Actor Sacha Baron Cohen risked his life playing the fictional Kazakh journalist Borat in Borat Subsequent Movie Film, where he bunked with QAnon believers, punked Trump adviser Rudy Giuliani, and attended and then fled a pro-gun rally. Host Alex Cohen sits down with Baron Cohen and his co-star Maria Bakalova to get the behind-the-scenes of this extreme comedy.
SoCal Snapshot
People enjoy the sunny weather at Pan Pacific Park in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles on Thursday. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)