Los Angeles County Announces 51 New Deaths Related to 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)

815 New Cases of Confirmed COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has confirmed 51 new deaths and 815 new cases of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). Forty-two people who died were over the age of 65 years old and six people who died were between the ages of 41 to 65 years old. Thirty-five people had underlying health conditions including 32 people over the age of 65 years old and three 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 29,427 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of LA County, and a total of 1,418 deaths. Ninety-two percent of people who died had underlying health conditions. Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 1,309 people (99 percent of the cases); 38% of deaths occurred among Latinx residents, 28% among White residents, 18% among Asian residents, 12% among African American residents, 1% among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander residents and 1% among residents identifying with other races. African Americans, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and people living in communities with high levels of poverty continue to have the highest rate of death per 100,000 people for COVID-19 when compared to other groups. Upon further investigation, 32 cases reported earlier were not LA County residents. As of today, 5,238 people who tested positive for COVID-19 (19% of positive cases) have been hospitalized at some point during their illness. Testing capacity continues to increase in LA County, with testing results available for nearly 208,000 individuals and 12% of people testing positive.

“These numbers represent people in our community who have passed away from COVID-19, and so many people are suffering as they mourn their loved ones. We are mourning with you, and we keep you in our thoughts and prayers,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “As we begin our journey of recovery, some of us will be going back to work and some of us will be out and about and around more people.  But that does not mean that we are now living in a Post-COVID-19 world.  The virus has not changed and it is still relatively easy to become infected, so we all share the responsibility to be diligent at all times in physical distancing, wearing cloth face coverings and frequent hand-washing. For our recovery to work, we all need to do our part to continue to slow the spread of the virus – this is the only thing that can prevent overwhelming our healthcare system and it will save lives.”

Yesterday, Public Health issued a five-stage roadmap to recovery that describes a phased approach to relaxing select directives of the Safer at Home Order and a reopening process for certain business sectors.  The County will begin stage two, tomorrow, Friday, May 8, that allows florists and some retailers to offer curbside pickup. Car dealerships, golf courses and trails will also open with appropriate safeguards in place. Physical distancing and infection control protocols must be adhered to and cloth facing coverings must be worn. Employers are required to provide a cloth face covering for all employees to wear while performing duties that involve contact with others and limit the number of people entering businesses so that a physical distance of at least 6 feet can be maintained at all times by employees and customers. Employers must allow for frequent handwashing or have sanitizer available when hand washing isn’t possible and may also need to stagger employee shifts to ensure that they can work at a safe distance from one another while on site. The public will be required to follow the measures put in place by the businesses and wear a cloth face covering to enter the establishments or secure purchases curbside. Later next week additional restrictions may be lifted to include other retailers, manufacturers, and recreational facilities.

The next three stages of the roadmap to recovery include the potential opening in phases of higher-risk institutions and businesses such as movie theaters, schools, colleges and universities, followed later by conventions and spectator events, to finally normal operations. Each sector will have safe reopening protocols that must be adhered to. Until the final stage five is reached, Health Officer Orders and directives will continue to ensure that we slow the spread of COVID-19 to prevent an overwhelming surge of COVID-19 cases at healthcare facilities. Physical distancing, wearing cloth face coverings, frequent hand washing, self-isolation and self-quarantine will be very important throughout the foreseeable future. People who have underlying health conditions will still be 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 know to call their providers immediately if they have even mild symptoms.

An interactive dashboard is available that provides an overview on COVID-19 testing, cases and deaths along with maps and graphs showing testing, cases and death data by community poverty level, age, sex and race/ethnicity.  To view Public Health’s COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard, visit: http://dashboard.publichealth.lacounty.gov/covid19_surveillance_dashboard/

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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