One Additional Case of MIS-C in a Child Confirmed; Public Health Reports 13 New Deaths and 1,256 New Cases of Confirmed COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

Public Health Reminds Residents to Avoid Crowded Places

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has confirmed 13 new deaths and 1,256 new cases of COVID-19. To date, Public Health identified 279,909 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 6,741 deaths.

Public Health has confirmed one additional case of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). This brings the total cases of MIS-C in L.A. County to 41 children. All 41 children with MIS-C in L.A. County were hospitalized and 46% of the children were treated in the ICU. Of the children with MIS-C, 27% were under the age of 5 years old, 39% were between the ages of 5 and 11 years old, and 34% were between the ages of 12 and 20 years old. Latino/Latinx children account for 70% of the reported cases. There are no reported MIS-C deaths in L.A. County children.

There are 724 confirmed cases of COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 26% of these people are confirmed cases in the ICU.  While slightly increasing from the low of 673 this week, the number of daily hospitalizations has remained under 800 daily hospitalizations since mid-September.

Public Health urges residents to adhere to public health protocols and directives to prevent increases of COVID-19 infections.  As a reminder, gathering with people outside your household puts you and those around you at greater risk. If you are celebrating this weekend, please remember to avoid crowded places and close contact with others not in your household. Everyone should always wear a face covering securely over their nose and mouth and maintain six feet distance between yourself and people not in your household. Gatherings, events or parties with non-household members are not permitted even if they are conducted outdoors except those expressly allowed in the L.A. County Order.  This includes in-person sport viewing and dinner parties as these events can become places where COVID-19 can spread easily. It is important for everyone to follow the directives and to do their part every day to keep everyone as safe as possible.

We continue to see COVID-19 outbreaks in businesses and workplaces.  In the last two weeks, 118 outbreak investigations were opened.  Because of the possibility of asymptomatic and presymptomatic infection, it only takes one person to contract and become infectious with COVID-19 and unknowingly bring the virus home and expose their household and or go to work and expose their coworkers and start an outbreak.

Because there continues to be significant potential for transmission of COVID-19 at worksites, it remains important that businesses adhere to workplace protocols that require infection control, distancing, masking, and appropriate PPE that protect employees, customers and residents from COVID-19 as much as possible.

Public Health’s compliance team continues to visit businesses across the County every day. Initial efforts are focused on educating business owners and workers about Health Officer Order requirements and how to stay safe but can result in citations for non-compliance where businesses are in violation of the Health Officer Order and protocols. As a result of inspections conducted since October 4, a total of 125 citations have been issued. In some cases, establishments were also closed because there were significant health and safety concerns or violations of the Health Officer Orders, including operating indoors in violation of the State and County Health Officer Orders.

To assist businesses follow the required protocols and maintain their operations with as much safety as possible for their staff, customers, and visitors, Public Health encourages L.A. County businesses to take advantage of the COVID-19 Safety Compliance Certification Program.  The program is a no-cost online course that trains businessowners and employees on what they need to do to ensure that their business practices are aligned and in compliance with infection control and physical distancing requirements. Once completed, business owners receive a certificate and window seal to display on their storefront.  For more information on the program and to take the training course, visit: www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

“To the many people across L.A. County who have lost a loved one or friend to COVID-19, we extend our deepest condolences,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “As we head into the holiday weekend, I encourage everyone to enjoy the time off as safe as possible. We ask that everyone adhere to the safety guidance and utilize the tools that prevent COVID-19 spread.  Please remember to avoid crowds and the other activities that increase the likelihood of getting COVID-19 as we cheer for our teams.”

Of the 13 new deaths reported today, five people that passed away were over the age of 80 years old, five people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, one person who died was between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, and  one person who died was between the ages of 30 and 49 years old.  Eleven people who died had underlying health conditions including four people over the age of 80, five people between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, one person between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, and one person between the ages of 30 and 49 years old. One death was reported by the City of Pasadena.

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 6,346 people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health); 51% of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 23% 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.  Upon further investigation, 12 cases and two deaths reported earlier were not L.A. County residents.

Testing results are available for more than 2,779,000 individuals with 9% of all people testing positive.

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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