Officials in the US state of California have ordered thousands of extra body bags as record coronavirus cases left Los Angeles with fewer than 100 intensive care beds available for a county of 10 million people.

The situation has grown severe across southern parts of California, which was praised for its response at the start of the pandemic in spring, but which has seen Covid-related hospital admissions soar sixfold since mid-October.

According to an AFP report, beyond Los Angeles, health authorities have sounded the alarm in nearby Ventura and Riverside counties, operating with 99 and 100 per cent of ICU capacity used up respectively. Ambulance waits of up to five hours before patients can be transported to crowded hospitals have been reported.

“We just had to order 5,000 additional body bags ... that should be sobering,” said Governor Gavin Newsom, warning the state is “in the middle of the most acute peak” of the disease.