Good morning, SoCal. Here's what you need to know today.
Your Weather Planner
Steady moisture coming off the Pacific has kept the scattered light rain and mountain snow showers going through Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. The heavier showers move into Ventura County around mid-morning Wednesday.
The showers will continue their trek across SoCal through the day. By noon and through the early afternoon, the first heavy band of showers moves across LA County and into Orange County and the Inland Empire in the afternoon and evening.
This heavy band could stall over south LA and Orange counties, along with the Inland Empire late Wednesday night and early Thursday before continuing on to San Diego County. San Diego could get hit with the heavy rain during the early morning commute.
In the early hours of Thursday, the heavy rain and a few thunderstorms are not out of the question.
Winds will be on the breezy side
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Get your 7-day forecast: LA West | LA East | San Fernando Valley/Ventura County | Orange County
Around SoCal
1. LA County's COVID-19 hospitalizations top 1,000 as cases surge
For the first time since late September, the number of people in Los Angeles County hospitals with COVID-19 surpassed the 1,000 mark Tuesday, echoing a sharp upward trend in infections and a dramatic increase in the rate of people testing positive for the virus.
According to state figures, there were 1,069 COVID-positive patients in Los Angeles County hospitals as of Tuesday, up from 966 on Monday. Of those patients, 207 were being treated in intensive care, up from 200 a day earlier.
Also rapidly rising is the rate of people testing positive for the virus. According to the county Department of Public Health, the seven-day average daily rate of people testing positive for the virus rose to 14.5% as of Tuesday. One week ago, the rate was 3%. On Nov. 22, it was 0.9%.
The sudden rapid spread of the virus is being blamed squarely on the omicron variant of the virus, which experts say is easily spread from person to person. Even people fully vaccinated are susceptible to omicron infection, although health officials say they are far less likely to become severely ill, wind up hospitalized or die. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said last week unvaccinated people are 21 times more likely to be hospitalized than vaccinated people.
On Tuesday, the county reported another 9,473 new COVID infections, bringing the cumulative pandemic total number of infections to 1,632,893.
Another 22 virus-related deaths were also reported, raising the county's death toll to 27,576.
2. More flights canceled at LAX, other airports due to COVID-19 issues
Flight cancellations continued to plague Los Angeles International Airport and airports around the world Tuesday, driven largely by staffing issues related to the latest surge in coronavirus cases.
LAX reported at least 50 cancellations on its website Tuesday, after experiencing even larger daily numbers over the Christmas weekend.
Orange County's John Wayne Airport and Hollywood/Burbank Airport each reported one canceled flight on their website Tuesday, while Long Beach Airport reported two.
3. James, Westbrook have triple-doubles, Lakers' skid ends at 5
LeBron James and Russell Westbrook both had triple-doubles and the Los Angeles Lakers snapped a season-high, five-game skid with a 132-123 victory over the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night.
James had 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for his third triple-double this season. Westbrook scored 24 points with 12 rebounds and 10 assists for his seventh of the season.
Houston stuck around for most of the night, but James took over late to allow the Lakers to pull away and hand the Rockets their fifth consecutive loss.
The Rockets trailed by one when James was called for goaltending on a layup by Jalen Green to put Houston on top with 2 ½ minutes left. But the Lakers challenged the call, and it was overturned. Carmelo Anthony made a 3-pointer a few seconds later to extend the lead to 120-116.
James added two free throws after that and his one-handed dunk after a turnover by Houston made it 124-116 with less than 90 seconds to go.
Kevin Porter Jr.’s 3-pointer got Houston within five before James struck again, making a layup to extend the lead to 126-119 with less than a minute remaining. James made four free throws after that to secure the victory.
Around the Nation
1. WHO: Global COVID cases up 11% last week, omicron risk high
2. Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid dies at 82
3. Some health experts split on CDC's move to shorten COVID-19 isolation
Don't Miss This
Only on Spectrum News 1
How to stop COVID-19, vaccine misinformation in Latino community
The Latino community accounts for 52.1% percent of coronavirus cases in California, and with the omicron variant on track to become the dominant strain by next year, the numbers will only continue to climb.
Right now Latino community leaders are fighting the spread of the virus along with the spread of misinformation about vaccines.
“As we try to fight and encourage people to get the vaccine, the people that are interested in not getting the vaccine out are getting more and more information in the networks,” said Dr. America Bracho, CEO of Latino Health Access.
Bracho told “Inside the Issues” host Alex Cohen, many Latino families living in America still get their news from their home countries. There’s also heavy reliance on social media including platforms like Facebook messenger and WhatsApp, all hard to police.
SoCal Snapshot
Los Angeles Kings center Blake Lizotte (46) controls the puck against Vegas Golden Knights center Michael Amadio (22) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday in Los Angeles. The Kings were finally back on the ice after three coronavirus-related postponements in their first game at the newly renamed Crypto.com Arena. LA lost 6-3. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)