Officials urged residents to adhere to Los Angeles County’s “Safer at Home” orders a day after public health officials confirmed that the swifter spreading B.1.1.7 variant of coronavirus was present in the county.

Health officials reported 11,366 new cases of COVID-19 and 108 additional deaths on Sunday, Jan. 17, bringing the county’s totals to 1,014,662 cases and 13,848 fatalities. County health officials said, however, that the number of new cases reported Sunday reflects an undercount because of a lag from weekend reporting.

As the death toll continued to climb, South Coast Air Quality Management District issued an emergency order Sunday, temporarily suspending some of its restrictions placed on the county’s crematories to help them cope with the backlog in human remains caused by the deadly outbreak.

Source: 11,366 new cases reported as L.A. County battles new coronavirus strain – San Gabriel Valley Tribune