California's COVID-19 surge: 'It's brutal. It's astoundingly bad' and about to get worse

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer was blunt about the region's coronavirus conditions, calling this time — nearly nine months in — "the most difficult moment in the pandemic."

Both cases and hospitalizations have hit unprecedented levels. And officials fully expect conditions to deteriorate rapidly in the coming weeks, following Thanksgiving gatherings and other holiday-related events.

"The increases we're seeing now are not sustainable," Ferrer said. "They're not sustainable, because they're gonna overwhelm not just our health care