Public Health Officials Provide Guidance for Individuals that were in Gatherings

Public Health Reports 2 New Deaths and 881 New Positive Cases of Confirmed COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has confirmed 2 new deaths and 881 new cases of confirmed COVID-19.  The low number of new deaths and new cases reported today reflect a reporting lag from over the weekend.

COVID-19 continues to spread and remains easily spread among people who are in close contact with an infected person.  If you were in a crowd with non-household members, especially if people weren’t wearing face coverings and were shouting, chanting, and/or singing, you may have been exposed to COVID-19 if an infected person was also there. People can pass the virus to others, even before they know they have it.

It is very important that you stay away from other people, especially those at greater risk of becoming seriously ill from COVID-19, and monitor yourself for symptoms of COVID-19 for 14 full days.  This is essential to prevent you from unintentionally spreading COVID-19 to other people.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, masks are strongly encouraged in settings where people might raise their voices, such as shouting, chanting, or singing. When someone raises their voice, their respiratory droplets, which carry the virus, spread farther.

Public Health encourages you to get tested if you have been in a crowd or gathering where people were close together and not wearing face coverings and/or not keeping their distance. By finding out if you are positive, even if you have no symptoms yet, you can quickly take steps to prevent your family, friends or coworkers from becoming infected by you and get the medical care you need.

To date, Public Health has identified 282,982 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 6,773 deaths. Upon further investigation, 34 cases reported earlier were not L.A. County residents.

“We wish healing and peace to the families and friends that are grieving the loss of their loved one to COVD-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Today we celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day to honor the history, cultures, and contributions of American Indians and Alaska Natives. COVID-19 has amplified a history of unequal access to health care and healthy environments, which has led to a history of disproportionality in health outcomes. Currently, American Indian and Alaska Native people face a disproportionate case rate of 1117 cases per 100,000 people. As we observe Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we ask everyone to be caring neighbors and limit COVID-19 spread by practicing physical distancing, wearing a face covering, and washing your hands frequently.”

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 6,378 people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health); 51% of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 23% among White residents, 14% 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.

Of the two new deaths reported today, one person that passed away was between the ages of 65 and 79 years old and one person who died was between the ages of 50 and 64 years old.  Both people who died had underlying health conditions.

There are 693 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 and 26% of these people are in the ICU. Testing results are available for more than 2,826,000 individuals with 9% of all people testing positive.

The Reopening Protocols, COVID-19 Data Dashboard, Recovery Metrics, 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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