L.A. County Reaches Tragic Milestones of 8,000 COVID-19 Deaths and More than 3,000 COVID-19 Hospitalizations

64 New Deaths and 8,547 New Positive Cases of Confirmed COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has reached the tragic milestone of 8,000 confirmed COVID-19 deaths and 3,113 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized.

To date, Public Health identified 466,321 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County.  Upon further investigation, 106 cases reported earlier were not L.A. County residents.

Today, Public Health has confirmed 64 new deaths and 8,547 new cases of COVID-19. The 5-day average for daily new cases reported with COVID-19 is 8,993, nearly double than the 5-day average for daily new cases we saw on the day after Thanksgiving, which was 4,751, and triggered the Temporary Stay at Home Health Officer Order. This is more new cases reported each day for COVID-19 than at any point during the pandemic.

Of the 3,113 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized, 24% of these people are in the ICU. The County’s number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 is increasing at a dangerous pace, and today’s number marks the first time in the pandemic we have reported more than 3,000 people currently hospitalized for COVID-19.  Today’s number is nearly 1,000 more hospitalizations than a little over a week ago, when on November 30, the daily number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 was 2,185.

Testing results are available for nearly 3,955,000 individuals with 11% of all people testing positive.

“Our hearts go out to the families and friends experiencing the sorrow of losing a loved one to COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “I know we all want this to be over, but the only way we can truly move on forward in our recovery journey is if we all follow the basic Public Health safety measures. Right now, too many people in our community are infected with COVID-19 and it is irresponsible and dangerous for people or businesses to flaunt the essential measures that protect everyone from transmitting or acquiring the virus. The way out of this may seem difficult, but the steps are simple, and those who disregard these safety measures are only delaying our recovery journey. For businesses that remain open, please follow all our safety protocols that protect your employees and customers. And for all of us that call L.A. County our home, please stay home as much as possible, and if you do go outside, always wear a face covering and distance from others.”

Compliance with public health safety measures is essential to preserve our healthcare system and save lives. Everyone needs to immediately stay home as much as possible and always wear a face covering whenever engaging in activities outside their homes. Do not mingle with others not in your household. Because COVID-19 spreads from person to person through respiratory droplets, face coverings combined with frequent hand-washing and physical distancing provide the best protection if you need to leave your home. Individuals with underlying health conditions and those that are older should remain in their home and not be around others unless seeking routine or essential health care.  Please contact your health care provider to schedule essential care, as these services remain open and can be utilized safely.  If you are having difficulty breathing, go to an emergency room or call 911.

There have been a total of 21,491 positive cases among healthcare workers and first responders in Los Angeles County. This past week, 1,745 healthcare workers tested positive for COVID-19. This is double the number of new cases we reported the prior week. Seventy-three percent of healthcare workers who tested positive are younger than 50 years old. Slightly over half of the cases are among Latino/Latinx healthcare workers, and 68% of cases are among women. There have been a total 113 deaths among healthcare workers. Fifty-seven percent of these deaths occurred among men which is an overrepresentation of deaths, since the majority of cases are among women. More than 75% of deaths are among healthcare workers who are age 50 and older, and 48% are among Latino/Latinx healthcare workers. The vast majority, 84%, of healthcare workers who passed away had underlying health conditions. Nurses continue to account for the majority of deaths among healthcare workers at 42%.

Of the 64 new deaths reported today, 27 people that passed away were over the age of 80 years old, 19 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, 10 people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, and seven people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49 years old. Fifty-three people who died had underlying health conditions including 22 people over the age of 80 years old, 18 people between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, eight people between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, and four people between the ages of 30 and 49 years.

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 7,557 people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health); 52% of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 24% among White residents, 14% among Asian residents, 9% among African American/Black residents, less than 1% among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander residents and 1% among residents identifying with other races.

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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