L.A. County faces ‘three weeks of devastation’ before COVID-19 surge might slow, experts say

The coronavirus wave engulfing California over the last week seems to confirm that the worst of the surge is far from over. But how bad will it get? The numbers — which have reached record proportions — still don’t reflect anyone who may have gotten sick during Thanksgiving. Generally, it takes two weeks after an event to determine whether coronavirus transmission occurred, and two additional weeks for hospitalization numbers to increase as a result. It also will take several weeks for the effects of the latest stay-at-home order, which began in Los Angeles County last week and in much of California just before midnight Monday.