As COVID-19 Cases Increase, Public Health Monitors for MIS-C -62 New Deaths and 2,885 New Cases of Confirmed COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

As COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations increase, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) continues to monitor for multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) that is affecting a number of children under 21 years of age across the country who may have been exposed to COVID-19 or has COVID-19.

To date, Public Health has identified 15 cases of MIS-C in LA County with a median age of 8 years, 7 months old.  Forty percent of these cases were between ages of 0 and 5 years old, 40% were between the ages of 6 and 12 years old, and 20% were between the ages of 13 and 20 years old. The majority of cases (73%) were Latino/Latinx.  No reported cases have died.

MIS-C is a condition where different body parts can become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs.

Public Health is advising physicians to consider for MIS-C in patient children under 21 years old who present with the clinical presentation and to notify the department immediately of any cases.

Public Health confirms 62 new deaths and 2,885 new cases of COVID-19. Over the last 48 hours there have been 7,477 new cases.  To date, Public Health has identified 150,319 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of LA County, and a total of 4,047 deaths.

Of the 62 new deaths, 45 people who died were over the age of 65 years old, 15 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. 22 people had underlying health conditions including nine people over the age of 65 years old and 13 people between the ages of 41 to 65 years old. One death was reported by the City of Long Beach.

There are 2,122 confirmed cases of COVID-19 currently hospitalized, 26% of these people are confirmed cases in the ICU and 18% are confirmed cases on ventilators. Data continues to show younger people between the ages of 18 and 40 years old are being hospitalized at a higher rate than seen at any point in this pandemic.

Ninety-three percent of people who died had underlying health conditions. Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 3,760 people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health); 46% of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 26% among White residents, 15% among Asian residents, 11% among African American/Black residents, less than 1% among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander residents and 2% among residents identifying with other races. Upon further investigation, 34 cases and three deaths reported earlier were not LA County residents.

Testing results are available for over 1,465,000 individuals with 9% of all people testing positive.

“To the families that are experiencing the sorrow of losing a loved one to COVID-19, please know that our thoughts and prayers are with you every day,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “We know that more than 10,000 children and teens have been infected with COVID-19. Those who are affected with MIS-C are rare, but we are monitoring for this devasting condition. I also want to warn parents that even though our children and teens may not show the same symptoms and illness of COVID-19 when compared to older people, they can spread COVID-19 like anyone else and should wear face coverings if they are two years old and older and they should continue to practice physical distancing and avoid gathering with people outside of their household. I know this is difficult and frustrating, but we must stop the spread of this devasting virus.”

To help slow the spread of the COVID-19 and protect students, teachers and the school community, a new Health Officer Order will be issued today to adhere to California Department of Public Health’s directive that schools in Los Angeles County and 31 other counties on the State’s monitoring list, cannot resume in-person learning next month.

Current Health Officer Orders require business owners to close indoor operations at many businesses and take immediate action to implement strategies that protect workers and customers.

The Order requires the closure of the following sectors for all indoor operations:

• Gyms and Fitness Centers
• Places of Worship
• Indoor Protests
• Offices for Non-Critical Infrastructure Sectors as identified at covid19.ca.gov
• Personal Care Services(including nail salons, massage parlors, and tattoo parlors)
• Hair Salons and Barbershops
• Indoor Malls

Bars, indoor dining at restaurants, indoor museums, indoor operations at zoos and aquariums, and cardrooms and satellite wagering facilities remain closed and all events and gatherings unless specifically allowed by this Order remain prohibited.

Residents need to make sure they are doing their part as well. Residents should always wear a face covering securely over their nose and mouth and keep six feet apart from others not in their household when out in public and wash hands frequently. Everyone should avoid the Three Cs: Crowded places, Confined spaces and Close contact with others not in your household.  Public Health reminds everyone that you remain safer at home.

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. If a person tests positive for COVID-19, they should plan on receiving a call from a public health specialist 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.

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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