Los Angeles, Jan 3 (IANS): New Covid-19 cases have continued to spike in Los Angeles, the most populous county in the US, recording almost 45,000 over the New Year's holiday weekend, local public health authorities said.

The Department of Public Health said in a statement on Sunday that the county, home to more than 10 million residents, continued to have high rates of community Covid transmission, reports Xinhua news agencyy.

Even with the holiday reporting delays, the county still recorded 23,553 new cases on Saturday, and 21,200 on Sunday, bringing the total caseload to 1,741,292, the Department said.

The numbers are far higher than last winter's peak average of 16,000 cases per day.

Hospitalisations have risen to 1,628, and more than 20 per cent of those getting tested are positive for the virus, it said.

Meanwhile, the county's death toll rose to 27,640, with two new fatalities reported on Sunday.

"Indoor activities where individuals are unmasked for long periods of time, as well as crowded outdoor events, increase the risk that infected individuals will transmit both Omicron and Delta variants to others," it noted, urging local residents to curtail higher risk activities.