Public Health Reports 29 New Deaths and 1,586 New Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County
Health Officials Urge Diligence in Following Business Protocols
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has confirmed 29 new deaths and 1,586 new cases of COVID-19. COVID-19 spread has increased in L.A. County, and this is a cause for concern. At the beginning of October, the average reported cases was 940 per day.
To date, Public Health identified 302,077 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 7,027 deaths.
This last week, Public Health observed many instances of customers at restaurants not following the required infection control protocols while watching sporting events such as the World Series on television. Public Health urges restaurants, breweries, and wineries that show sporting events on televisions to strictly adhere to public health protocols and directives to prevent increases of COVID-19. This includes not allowing customers to congregate in any areas or around televisions, ensuring guests are seated at a table, and keeping at least six feet of physical distance between tables. Employees should always be wearing appropriate face coverings, and customers should use a face covering when they are not eating or drinking.
Public Health’s compliance teams visit businesses across the County every day. Inspectors review public health protocols with business owners, identify deficiencies, and issue citations and fines for those out of compliance. From October 12 through October 18, a total of 48 citations were issued to businesses including restaurants, hotels, gyms, and places of worship for noncompliance with Health Officer Orders. Since the end of August, a total of 194 citations have been issued.
The COVID-19 Safety Compliance Certification Program continues to be available for business owners and employees in Los Angeles County. The program allows employers and employees to learn about COVID-19 infection control protocols and to self-certify that they are fully implementing the protocols. To date, 3,488 employers and 3,685 employees have completed the training.
“Our hearts go out to everyone who has lost a friend or a loved one to COVID-19. May peace and comfort be with you during these devastating times” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “We continue to warn about the dangers of gatherings and public celebrations because these events create many opportunities for COVID-19 transmission. We encourage all fans to watch and celebrate the World Series safely at home with members of your household and not in gatherings of any size, especially where people are cheering, yelling, and congregating in close distance without face coverings. Those situations increase the possibility for the virus to spread, putting you and your loved ones at risk. Please take the necessary steps to protect each other and keep our County from stalling in our recovery.”
Of the 29 new deaths reported today, 14 people that passed away were over the age of 80 years old, eight people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, four people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, two people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49 years old, and one person who died was between the ages of 18 and 29 years old. Twenty-two people who died had underlying health conditions including 12 people over the age of 80, five people between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, three people between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, one person between the ages of 30 and 49 years old, and one person between the age of 18 and 29 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 6,620 people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health); 52% 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. Upon further investigation, 123 cases and two deaths reported earlier were not L.A. County residents.
Testing results are available for more than 3,046,000 individuals with 9% of all people testing positive. There are 747 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 27% of these people are in the ICU.
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.
