Los Angeles, Jan 15 (IANS): Los Angeles County, the most populous in the US, recorded nearly 2,000 Covid-19 deaths in one week as the virus is "running rampant", local health officials said.

The county, home to 10 million residents, on Thursday reported 17,323 new confirmed cases and 287 fatalities, pushing its cumulative infection tally to 975,299 with 13,234 deaths, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported in a daily release.

As of January 7, the Covid-19 death toll in the county was 11,545.

The number of infected patients in the county has gone from under 800 two months ago to the current 7,906, with 21 per cent of them in intensive care units, said the Department.

It is estimated that more than 3 million residents in the county have been infected with the Covid-19, The Los Angeles Times reported on Thursday, citing new estimates by county scientists.

The astonishing estimate, based on scientific modelling, means that one in three Los Angeles County residents have been infected with the coronavirus.

"When we ask our residents to stay home and follow the rules and businesses to follow the Health Officer Orders, it is to stop the loss of life from Covid-19," Barbara Ferrer, the county's public health director, said in a statement.

"This disease is running rampant right now, and we continue to plead with residents, businesses and government, the community to do all possible to stop the spread," she noted.