Public Health Reports 21 New Deaths and 1,280 New Cases of Confirmed COVID-19 in Los Angeles

Public Health Officials Urge Residents to Avoid Gatherings

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has confirmed 21 new deaths and 1,280 new cases of confirmed COVID-19. To date, Public Health has identified 278,665 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County, and a total of 6,726 deaths.

As COVID-19 continues to spread througout L.A. County communities, Public Health urges participation with case investigation and contact tracing efforts. To date, nearly 139,000 people who are or were positive for COVID-19 completed the case investigation interview process. More than 84,000 contacts, or people that were exposed to the virus, were identified, and nearly 61,000 close contacts completed interviews. Since early August, an average of 63% of cases have provided at least one contact for follow-up. Our ability to talk to people who are infected and those potentially infected with COVID-19 is an important tool in slowing the spread of the virus.

If a person tests positive for or has been exposed to someone with COVID-19, they should expect a call from a Public Health specialist to discuss how to protect themselves and others, how to isolate or quarantine, how to access services and providers, and to talk through other concerns or questions a case or contact may have.  We encourage anyone who receives a call from Public Health to speak to our Public Health specialist.  If a Public Health specialist calls, it will display on your phone as “LA Public Health” or as 833-641-0305.

Public Health has a dedicated call line for confirmed cases of COVID-19. If you are positive with COVID-19 and have not yet connected with a Public Health specialist or need more information on services, call toll-free at 1-833-540-0473. Residents who do not have COVID-19 should continue to call 2-1-1 for resources or more information.

“To those who are grieving a loved one who passed away from COVID-19, we wish you healing and peace,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Many of us are enjoying the successes of our local basketball and baseball teams, and we have great reasons to celebrate.  I want to remind everyone about the importance of celebrating safely.  As we have seen, gatherings, even among people who know each other and are asymptomatic, can result in transmission of COVID-19 and ultimately cause people to become seriously ill. As you celebrate our teams, please do so at home and with people that you live with, or find ways to celebrate virtually with friends and fellow fans. In order to make progress toward more re-openings for schools and businesses, each of us must take action in reducing transmission and moving our community toward recovery and reopening.”

Testing results are available for more than 2,770,000 individuals with 9% of all people testing positive.

Skilled nursing facility COVID-19 -related cases have remained low and at stable levels over the last few months, and, unlike the rest of the County, did not see a significant spike in cases in July.   While the County hit a peak number of cases the week of July 12 with over 20,000 new cases reported that week, there were only about 300 new cases reported in skilled nursing facilities. Over the last month, weekly new cases have further dropped to around 100 per week.

Skilled nursing facilities did not experience an increase in COVID-19 deaths in July and August as Los Angeles County did overall and there continues to be a steady decline in COVID-19 deaths. Skilled nursing facility COVID-19-associated deaths peaked in the beginning of May with 190 deaths a week. Last week, deaths in skilled nursing facilities dropped to 16 deaths a week.

Public Health continues to survey skilled nursing facilities in the County for compliance with mandated COVID-19 testing and reports of COVID-19 cases and outbreaks. All 341 skilled nursing facilities are conducting testing of residents and staff. For the week of September 20, 40,000 COVID-19 tests were completed among staff and residents. Out of the 341 facilities, 113 were reported as having one or more cases and 228 facilities reported no positive cases. All facilities reported having adequate staffing and 95% percent of all skilled nursing facilities reported having adequate PPE.

Of the 21 new deaths reported today, eight people that passed away were over the age of 80 years old, seven people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, four 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. Eighteen people who died had underlying health conditions including six people over the age of 80, seven people between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, three people between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, and two people between the ages of 30 and 49 years old.

Ninety-three 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 6,333 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, 60 cases and four deaths reported earlier were not L.A. County residents.

There are 709 confirmed cases of COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 28% of these people are confirmed cases in the ICU.

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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