Public Health Reports 23 New Deaths and 1,224 New Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County
Residents Reminded to do Their Part to Prevent COVID-19 Spread
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has confirmed 23 new deaths and 1,224 new cases of COVID-19. To date, Public Health identified 311,745 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 7,097 deaths.
Testing results are available for nearly 3,164,000 individuals with 9% of all people testing positive. There are 798 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 28% of these people are in the ICU.
Because there is increased transmission of COVID-19 in L.A. County, Public Health reminds everyone to follow Public Health safety guidance and to do their part every day to prevent COVID-19 spread.
There is a high level of risk associated with gatherings of any kind, especially when people are not keeping physical distance of at least 6 feet and wearing face coverings. This includes in-person election viewing and dinner parties, as these types of gatherings can easily spread COVID-19. If you plan to watch election results, it is safest to do so at home with other people from your household or participate virtually with friends. If you are planning to get together with others, please follow the private gathering guidelines which permits households to gather outdoors with up to two other households for up to two hours, as long as everyone is wearing a face covering and distancing from each other. Indoor gatherings, events or parties of any size with non-household members are unsafe and are not permitted.
People have passed the virus to others, even before they knew they had it. Face coverings are strongly encouraged in indoor and outdoor settings where people might raise their voices, such as shouting, chanting, or singing; this is because when someone raises their voice, their respiratory droplets spread farther.
“To the many people across L.A. County who are mourning the loss of a loved one or friend to COVID-19, we wish you healing and peace,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “We don’t have to endure the worst scenarios that this pandemic can create if everyone and every business takes responsibility to stop COVID-19 from spreading. When safety directives are not followed, we see cases, hospitalizations and deaths increase. When everyone distances, wears face coverings, and follows public health guidance, we see cases, hospitalizations and deaths decrease. There are many businesses and schools that have not yet re-opened because COVID-19 is spreading at concerning levels. When we ask everyone to follow safety measures that slow the spread of the virus, it is to save lives and so that we can get to a place where we can reopen more of our County.”
Throughout this pandemic when cases increase there is an increase 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 teams continue to visit businesses across the County every day. The compliance checks revealed good compliance with many aspects of Public Health protocols. Inspectors noted some businesses had not posted their completed protocols for reopening and some businesses need to ensure employees and patrons are appropriately distanced. From October 22 through October 25, a total of 14 citations were issued to businesses including restaurants and places of worship for noncompliance with Health Officer Orders. Since the end of August, a total of 220 citations have been issued.
Public Health encourages L.A. County businesses to participate in the COVID-19 Safety Compliance Certification Program. The program provides business owners and employees the opportunity to take a free online training about COVID-19 infection control protocols and allows businesses to self-certify that they are fully implementing protocols in compliance with infection control and physical distancing requirements. To date, 8,460 employees and employers have completed the training.
Of the 23 new deaths reported today, six people that passed away were over the age of 80 years old, 13 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, three people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, and one person who died was between the ages of 18 and 29 years old. Sixteen people who died had underlying health conditions including four people over the age of 80, nine 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 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 6,687 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, 74 cases and two deaths reported earlier were not L.A. County residents.
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.
