Public Health Reports 34 New Deaths and 1,401 New Positive Cases of Confirmed COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

4 Additional Cases of MIS-C in Children Identified

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has confirmed 34 new deaths and 1,401 new cases of confirmed COVID-19. Today is the highest number of new cases reported within the last two weeks.

To date, Public Health has identified 265,775 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County, and a total of 6,488 deaths.

Public Health is also reporting four new cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). This brings the total number of MIS-C cases in L.A. County to 38 children.

All 38 children with MIS-C in L.A. County were hospitalized and 47% of the children were treated in the ICU. Twenty-six percent of these cases were between the ages of 0 and 4 years old, 37% were between the ages of 5 and 11 years old, and 37% were between the ages of 12 and 20 years old. Latino/Latinx children account for 71% of the reported cases. None of the children with MIS-C in L.A. County have died due to the illness.

MIS-C is a rare inflammatory condition associated with COVID-19 that can damage multiple organ systems, require hospitalization, and be life-threatening. MIS-C symptoms include fever that does not go away and inflamed body parts, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs. If you believe your child is displaying MIS-C symptoms, contact your primary care provider. If you do not have a primary care provider, dial 2-1-1 and L.A. County will help connect you to one.

“To the families and friends who are mourning their loved ones, we are deeply sorry, and wish you healing and peace,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “We have seen slight increases in new cases and are paying attention to our case, hospitalization and death numbers to understand recent community transmission of COVID-19. Data through this upcoming weekend will inform our understanding of the impact of Labor Day holiday actions. This information will inform decisions on re-opening.”

As of September 22, there have been a total of three deaths among the 1,853 pregnant women that tested positive for COVID-19. Eighty percent of pregnant women testing positive for COVID-19 are Latina/Latinx, 7% are White, 4% are African American/Black, 3% are Asian, 4% identify with another race, and race/ethnicity was unknown or unspecified for 1%. Among the 956 births where there was testing information, 16 babies tested positive for the virus.

Public Health encourages expecting and new moms to take extra care and remain home as much as possible to avoid potential exposure. If you must go out, wear a cloth face covering, keep physical distance from anyone who is not from your household, and wash hands frequently especially right before caring for your baby. If you are sick or positive for COVID-19 and breastfeeding, wear a mask while breastfeeding or bottle-feeding, and be sure to wash your hands before touching the baby or any pump or bottle before using. If possible, ask someone else to feed the baby your breastmilk by bottle. Public Health has detailed guidance for expecting and new moms at: http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/docs/people/GuidancePregnancy.pdf

While there are steps pregnant women and new mothers can take to lower the risk of being exposed to COVID-19, all residents and businesses can contribute to protecting people who are vulnerable to serious illness from the virus by using the tools we have to reduce transmission: implementing all requirements in the business protocols, practicing physical distancing and wearing a cloth face covering when out and around other people, washing or sanitizing hands frequently, isolating if you have tested positive for COVID-19 and quarantining if you have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for the virus.

Of the 34 new deaths reported today (excluding Long Beach and Pasadena), 14 people that passed away were over the age of 80, nine people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, six people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64 years old and two people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49 years old. Twenty-eight people had underlying health conditions including 13 people over the age of 80 years old, eight people between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, five people between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, and two people between the ages of 30 and 49. Three deaths were reported by the City of Long Beach.

Ninety-two percent of the people who died from COVID-19 had underlying health conditions. Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 6,106 people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health); 51% of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 23% among White residents, 15% among Asian residents, 10% among African American/Black residents, less than 1% among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander residents and 1% among residents identifying with other races. Upon further investigation, 40 cases and one death reported earlier were not L.A. County residents.

Testing results are available for more than 2,609,000 individuals with 9% of all people testing positive. There are 760 confirmed cases currently hospitalized and 28% of these people are confirmed cases in the ICU.

The Reopening Protocols, COVID-19 Data Dashboard, Recovery Metrics, 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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