Public Health Reports an Increase in MIS-C Cases in L.A. County Children and 31 New Deaths and 1,509 New Cases of Confirmed COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) is reporting three additional cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). This brings the total cases of MIS-C in L.A. County to 28 children.

MIS-C affects children under 21 years old who may have been exposed to COVID-19 or had COVID-19. Different body parts can become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs and there can be lifelong health impacts.

Twenty-eight percent of these cases were between the ages of 0 and 5 years old, 39% were between the ages of 6 and 12 years old, and 32% were between the ages of 13 and 20 years old. The majority of cases (71%) were Latino/Latinx.

There continue to be no reports of deaths in children associated with MIS-C in L.A. County.

If you believe your child may be displaying MIS-C symptoms, contact your primary care provider. If you do not have a primary care provider, dial 2-1-1 and LA County will help connect you to one.

Public Health advises physicians to consider for MIS-C in patient children under 21 years old and to notify the department immediately of any cases.

Earlier today, the State revised their recovery roadmap and created an updated Tier Framework that classifies each California County based on their daily case rate and positivity rate. L.A. County has been placed in Tier 1 (purple) based on our average daily case rate for the prior two weeks of 13.1 new cases per 100,000 residents.  Tier 1 is characterized by widespread community transmission.  Although the State today revised slightly the list of permitted activities in Tier 1 to allow for the re-opening of both hair salons for indoor services and indoor shopping centers for permitted retail establishments, the County Health Officer Order has not been changed to permit these re-openings. As such, since County orders may be more restrictive than State guidance, all current restrictions remain in place until the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and the Board of Supervisors have an opportunity to review the suggested guidance from the State and take actions that are appropriate for our County.

Today, Public Health has confirmed 31 new deaths and 1,509 new cases of COVID-19. Of the new cases reported by Public Health today (excluding Long Beach and Pasadena), more than 68% occurred in people 49 years old or younger.

To date, Public Health has identified 238,458 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County, and a total of 5,732 deaths. Upon further investigation, 37 cases reported earlier were not LA County residents.

There are 1,168 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 32% of these people are confirmed cases in the ICU.  This is the third straight day of daily hospitalizations under 1,200.

“We wish the many families experiencing the sorrow of losing a loved one to COVID-19 healing and peace,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Over 21,000 COVID-19 cases have occurred in children ages 0 to 17 years old.  COVID-19 spreads among children the same way it spreads among adults – exposure to a symptomatic or asymptomatic people infected with the virus.  As we look at ways to safely offer opportunities for children to be supported in their learning, we must do so taking every precaution to limit exposures and spread of COVID-19. That is why we ask that every operator of child-care, day care, day camps, pods, and recreational programing implements all the mandatory infection control and physical distancing directives attached to the County Health Officer Order.”

Of the 31 new deaths reported today, 19 people that passed away (excluding Long Beach and Pasadena) were over the age of 80 years old, nine people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, two people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, and one person who died was between the ages of 30 and 49 years old. Twenty-six people had underlying health conditions including 15 people over the age of 80 years old, eight people between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, two people between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, and one person 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 5,397 people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health); 51% of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 24% 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.

Testing results are available for more than 2,257,000 individuals with 10% of all people testing positive.

Public Health has a dedicated call line for any person with a positive lab result. If you are positive for COVID-19 and have not yet connected with a public health specialist, the department urges you 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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