Los Angeles County Announces 11 New Deaths Related to 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)

1,784 New Cases of Confirmed COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has confirmed 11 new deaths and 1,784 new cases of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). Four people who died were over the age of 65 years old and five people who died were between the ages of 41 and 65 years old. Eight people had underlying health conditions including four people over the age of 65 years old and four people between the ages of 41 to 65 years old. Two deaths were reported by the City of Long Beach.

To date, Public Health has identified 83,397 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of LA County, and a total of 3,120 deaths. Ninety-three percent of people who died had underlying health conditions. Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 2,900 people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health); 42% of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 29% among White residents, 17% among Asian residents, 11% among Black/African American residents, less than 1% among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander residents and 1% among residents identifying with other races. Upon further investigation, 23 cases and one death reported earlier were not LA County residents. There are 1,426 people who are currently hospitalized, 29% of these people are in the ICU and 21% are on ventilators. Testing capacity continues to increase in LA County, with testing results available for nearly 945,000 individuals and 8% of people testing positive.

“COVID-19 has left many families mourning a loved one. We are so sorry for your loss and keep you in our thoughts and prayers every day,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “As more businesses reopen, it is important that they follow all of the protocols and directives issued by the LA County Health Officer, and that all customers and visitors practice physical distancing and wear cloth face coverings. I want to thank all of you who are making the actions that slow the spread of COVID-19 part of your day-to-day life and your day to day business operations. These are the actions that allow us to continue our recovery journey, and these actions will be essential to ensure that we don’t overwhelm our healthcare system and see increased numbers of deaths from COVID-19. “

Public Health continues to assess key recovery indicators on the Recovery Dashboard to understand how COVID-19 is affecting communities and capacity to treat people who may become seriously ill. Increased contact with others not in your household results in increased risk of transmission of COVID-19.  To help prevent an overwhelming surge of COVID-19 cases at healthcare facilities and to protect one another, everyone must always wear a face covering and keep six feet or more of distance from others not in your household, wash hands frequently, self-isolate if you’re positive for COVID-19, and quarantine if you’re a close contact of someone who tested positive. It is important if someone thinks they could be positive for COVID-19 and are awaiting testing results, to stay at home and act as if they are positive. This means self-isolating for 10 days and 72 hours after symptoms and fever subside, or until they receive a negative result. If a person tests positive for COVID-19, they should plan on receiving a call from a contact tracer to discuss how to protect themselves and others, to find out where they may have been, and who they were in close contact with while infectious. People who have underlying health conditions remain at much greater risk for serious illness from COVID-19, so it will continue to be very important for the County’s vulnerable residents to stay at home as much as possible, to have groceries and medicine delivered, and to call their providers immediately if they have even mild symptoms.

The current Health Officer Order and directives allows for the following sectors to reopen once they implement the required protocols for infection control and distancing:

• Cardrooms, satellite wagering facilities and racetracks with no spectators
• Personal care services including: esthetician, skin care and cosmetology services; electrology; nail salons; body art professionals, tattoo parlors, microblading and permanent make-up; and piercing shops; and massage therapy
• Bars, wineries, breweries and tasting rooms

The Health Officer Order contains protocols for reopening to ensure it is done as safely as possible for employees, customers and residents; all sectors are reopening with reduced occupancy. Employees and visitors to these businesses must wear a cloth face covering when around other people and practice physical distancing of at least 6 feet at all times. Some employees may be required to wear face shields. It is important for everyone to follow the directives and to do their part every day to keep everyone as safe as possible. The directives are available online and are contained in sector-specific protocols that inform all re-openings.

The Reopening Protocols, COVID-19 Surveillance Interactive Dashboard, Roadmap to Recovery, Recovery Dashboard, and additional things you can do to protect yourself, your family and your community are on the Public Health website, www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

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