Los Angeles County Announces 36 New Deaths Related to 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)

1,051 New Cases of Confirmed COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has confirmed 36 new deaths and 1,051 new cases of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). Twenty-six people who died were over the age of 65 years old, seven people who died were between the ages of 41 and 65 years old, and one person who died was between the ages of 18 and 40 years old. Thirty-one people had underlying health conditions including 25 people over the age of 65 years old and six people between the ages of 41 to 65 years old. One death was reported by the City of Long Beach and one death was reported by the City of Pasadena.

To date, Public Health has identified 78,227 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of LA County, and a total of 3,027 deaths. Ninety-four percent of people who died had underlying health conditions. Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 2,807 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 African American residents, less than 1% among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander residents and 1% among residents identifying with other races. Upon further investigation, 13 cases reported earlier were not LA County residents. There are 1,429 people who are currently hospitalized, 29% of these people are in the ICU and 22% are on ventilators. Testing capacity continues to increase in LA County, with testing results available for nearly 868,000 individuals and 8% of people testing positive.

A modified Health Officer Order and directives for the reopening of additional businesses is being issued today with an effective date of June 19. The Health Officer Order will allow 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 all businesses that are permitted to reopen to ensure it is done as safely as possible for employees, customers and residents. Employees and visitors to these businesses will need to 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. Businesses should take the time to put all of the protocols in place before reopening. The directives will be available online and are contained in sector-specific protocols that inform all re-openings.

“To the many families who are mourning loved ones lost to COVID-19, please accept our heartfelt sympathies,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “COVID-19 has impacted everyone across the county, and we are all feeling exhausted by the safety requirements, yet we still have to find it within ourselves to do our part to protect each other from the spread of the virus.  As more sectors re-open, we risk losing all the progress we have made in slowing the spread, if we don’t take every precaution possible to prevent exposing others and ourselves to the virus.”

Because this virus is still easily transmitted among people in contact with each other, the best protection against COVID-19 continues to be to wash your hands frequently, avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, self-isolate if you are sick, practice physical distancing, and wear a clean face covering when in contact with others from outside your household. It’s 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 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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