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As cases of COVID-19 rise throughout California and the United States, an increasing number of people are being hospitalized or going to the emergency room, worrying health officials that the surge could potentially strain health care systems.

As of Saturday, there were 3,915 hospitalizations due to confirmed and suspected COVID-19 cases across California, according to the state public health data. As of Friday in L.A. County, hospitalizations were up by nearly 31% as compared to two weeks ago, according to an L.A. Times analysis.

Erin Myers and Shelby Nelson report for the KTLA 5 News on Dec. 19, 2021.