Outrage over planned New Year's Eve gatherings as Los Angeles faces crush of Covid cases

Businesses advertising indoor events to ring in 2021 are drawing sharp criticism as hospitals in the area are overloaded

News of planned New Year's Eve parties in Los Angeles is sparking outrage as the region faces a catastrophic Covid crisis, record deaths and a crushed healthcare system.

In the lead up to the new year, LA has become the new center of America's out-of-control pandemic, with one Covid death now happening every ten minutes and hospitals faced with unthinkable choices as they run out of intensive care unit (ICU) beds. But doctors' warnings of apocalyptic" scenes at hospitals have not stopped some businesses from planning in-person events to ring in 2021, drawing sharp criticism from health officials.