The Kern County Public Health Department confirmed Monday 124 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 5,379.

There has also been an increase in hospitalizations. Health officials said Monday there were 123 people isolating in the hospital, and of those patients, 67 people were in the Intensive Care Unit, according to the California Department of Public Health.

County officials say Kern’s hospitalization rates continue to be a concern, and it’s this metric that continues to leave Kern on the State’s watch list.

The state’s target is to have less than a 10 percent increase in hospitalization rates in a three-day period, but Kern does not meet this metric. Kern’s percentage change in a three-day average of hospitalization patients is around 18.5 percent.

A state model released last month predicted Kern would reach it’s ICU capacity by the end of July; however, it is unclear if Kern is still on this track.

Kern’s 10 acute care hospitals have a licensed ICU capacity of 228 beds, according to Public Health’s spokeswoman Michelle Corson. As of Monday, there were 76 ICU beds available.

Health officials announced no new COVID-19 related deaths. There are a total of 82 deaths.