LA Mayor Garcetti Reveals His Daughter Has Covid-19, He Turned Down Biden Post; County Sees Two New Deaths Every Hour On Average
With thousands suffering and dying from the coronavirus in California and across America in record numbers, the disease has now hit Los Angeles’ first family.
Mayor Eric Garcetti revealed tonight that his nine-year old daughter has tested positive for Covid-19. “Maya is doing fine and her symptoms are mild,” Garcetti said of his daughter. “My wife and I have both been tested and our test results have come back negative,” he added
“Our family is incredibly careful and what’s happening in my home this week is playing out across Los Angeles and this country,” the quarantining City of Angels Mayor noted in a live address from his official residence in Hancock Park.
Leaving it vague with the term “serving,” Garcetti also made it public that he has turned down an offer from his long time political godfather Joe Biden to join the President-elect in Washington. “I let them know early this week that my city needs me now, I want to be here, and I need to be here,” Garcetti announced.
Ordered today by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge to give a deposition in bodyguard’s sexual harassment lawsuit against a former top aide, the ambitious Garcetti saw his stock for a cabinet job fall as the LA chapter of Black Lives Matter consistently protested any possible ascension. Set to be termed out and once touted as a potential Transportation Secretary, Garcetti served as a campaign co-chair for Biden, was on the ex-Veep’s VP selection committee and is on the incoming POTUS’ Inaugural team.
Biden picked ex-South Bend, Indiana mayor and one-time primary rival Pete Buttigieg earlier this week to head the Transportation department.
With two people dying now every hour on average, today saw LA County hit new highs with the horrors of 102 deaths and 14,418 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus. This comes as both the state and the nation saw records fatalities from the infection and surging cases.
In that vein, city testing results are “seeing a 7-day positivity rate of an alarming 19.6%,” Garcetti exclaimed this evening. “Some of our sites have a positivity rate as high as 30%,” he shockingly went on to say.
Over a week into new semi-stay-at-home orders, a non-binding mask wearing mandate and other restrictions, ICU capacity in the Southern California region has fallen to 0%. Which means in the roughest sense, that as hospitals become overwhelmed, the infected will not be receiving proper care and perhaps see even greater spread. Along with no staffing reserves anymore, hospitals could “go under,” in the words of the Mayor. That could lead to an emergency declaration for the entire county with facilities formally announcing they have no more beds.
As of yesterday, 4,656 people were hospitalized with Covid-19 in LA County, another high.
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