L.A. County Exceeds 200,000 Positive Cases as COVID-19 Crisis Response Continues

48 New Deaths and 3,290 New Cases of Confirmed COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has reported more than 200,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles County.  To date, Public Health has identified 201,106 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County, and a total of 4,869 deaths.

Today, Public Health has confirmed 48 new deaths and 3,290 new cases of COVID-19.  The high number of new cases are, in part, due to a backlog of test results received from one lab.  Testing results are available for nearly 1,860,000 individuals with 10% of all people testing positive.

Public Health continues to anticipate receiving a backlog of cases once the State electronic laboratory system (ELR) issues are fixed. This issue has undercounted the County’s positive cases and affects the number of COVID-19 cases reported each day and our contact tracing efforts. Data sources that track other key indicators, including hospitalizations and deaths, are not affected by this reporting issue.

There are 1,741 confirmed cases currently hospitalized and 29% of these people are confirmed cases in the ICU.  The number of hospitalized patients continues to decrease. This number was up to 2,200 patients in the middle of July.

Of the 48 new deaths, 14 people that passed away (excluding Long Beach and Pasadena) were over the age of 80 years old, 12 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, 14 people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, and five people who died was between the ages of 30 and 49 years old. Thirty-seven people had underlying health conditions including 10 people over the age of 80 years old, nine people between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, 13 people between the ages of 50 and 64 years old,  and five people between the ages of 30 and 49 years old.  Two deaths were reported by the City of Long Beach and one death was reported by the City of Pasadena.

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 4,562 people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health); 49% of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 24% among White residents, 15% among Asian residents, 11% 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, 96 cases and four deaths reported earlier were not LA County residents.

Data continues to expose disproportionality in health outcomes by race, ethnicity and income level data. African American/Black and Latino/Latinx residents are still twice as likely to die from COVID-19 when compared to White residents. Latino/Latinx residents have the highest rates of death, with a rate of 65 residents per 100,000 people. Residents in communities with high levels of poverty are four times as likely to die of COVID-19 compared to residents in communities with the highest income levels.

“Our hearts go out to the family and friends of those who have passed away from COVID-19 and the thousands that have been sickened by this virus,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “In order to slow the spread of COVID-19  enough to be able to open our schools and get people back to work, we need to reduce non-essential activities that have us in close contact with people who aren’t in our households. This includes not attending or hosting parties, not gathering in areas that are crowded, and not participating in activities prohibited by the Health Officer Orders. We cannot arrest or enforce our way out of this pandemic. Collectively we need to take those actions that the science tells us will work to slow the transmission:  wear a face covering, maintain physical distance, wash hands frequently, and avoid gatherings with those not in your household. “

In order to address the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Black and Brown residents in LA County, strategies are needed that protect workers in jobs that involve close contact with others. There must be a focus on compliance at workplaces with the Health Officer Orders, including workplace modifications  to limit the spread of COVID-19 among employees along with universal sick leave benefits and job protections for anyone required to isolate or quarantine, unemployment benefits for those who are unable to work due to the pandemic, and community resources to support isolation and quarantine.

Public Health continues to respond to a high volume of Health Officer Order complaints. Since March, Public Health received a total of 20,129 Health Officer Order complaints and investigated more than 19,000 restaurants, more than 4,300 grocery stores, and more than 3,600 other businesses.

Twenty-seven restaurants and 76 other businesses which include seven gyms were shut down for Health Officer Order violations. Most of the businesses under investigation either came into compliance or were working to come into compliance and that’s why they were not closed.

Given the current ELR delays, the department urges any person with a positive lab result to call 1-833-540-0473 to connect with a public health specialist who can provide information about services and support. Residents who do not have COVID-19 should continue to call 211 for resources or more information.

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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