COVID-19 Hospitalizations Continue to Break Records, Business Compliance is Essential to Save Lives

86 New Deaths and 11,194 New Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has confirmed 86 new deaths and 11,194 new cases of COVID-19. This is the highest number of daily deaths reported since the summer surge.

There are 4,403 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 21% of these people are in the ICU.  Hospitalizations have increased 4-fold since November 16.  The number of people hospitalized was 1,049 on November 16 and over 4,400 today.

According to the State, the Southern California Region has 1.7% ICU capacity remaining.

During this time of extraordinarily high number of cases and hospitalizations and increasing numbers of deaths, it is more important than ever that County businesses carefully follow the Public Health requirements and be fully compliant with the safeguards and modifications in the Health Officer Order and protocols.

Public Health’s compliance teams continue to visit businesses across the County every day and review public health protocols with business owners, identify deficiencies, and issue citations for businesses out of compliance. From November 29 through December 6, a total of 20 citations were issued to businesses including restaurants, gyms, and indoor malls for noncompliance with Health Officer Orders. Since the end of August, a total of 433 citations have been issued. A list of non-compliant businesses that received citations can be found on: www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

L.A. County businesses are encouraged to take 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, a total of 16,166 employees and employers have completed the training.

Of the 86 new deaths reported today, 34 people that passed away were over the age of 80 years old, 33 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, 16 people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, and  three people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49 years old. Seventy people who died had underlying health conditions including 29 people over the age of 80 years old, 28 people between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, 11 people between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, two people between the ages of 30 and 49 years old.

To date, Public Health identified 543,769 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 8,431 deaths

“We send our deepest sympathies to everyone mourning the passing of a loved one to COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “We must all work together to prevent as many hospitalizations and deaths as possible while we wait for the COVID-19 vaccine to be widely available. The first vaccines were administered yesterday marking the beginning of the end of this pandemic. I ask that everyone stay strong and focus all efforts to stop the surge. We need to protect each other from this deadly virus by carefully abiding by the straight-forward safety measures and directives in the Health Officer Order. It worked before and it will work again when we all follow the rules.”

Because COVID-19 transmission is so widespread, activities become riskier as local case levels continue to surge.  The risk increases even more when those activities involve the removing of face coverings in close distance around people not in the same household. Because of the increased risk, Public Health requires everyone to stay home as much as possible. Only go out for activities that are essential like work, exercise, or medical and dental services.  When you must leave your home, always wear a face covering whenever outside your home, keep at least 6-feet of distance from others not in your household, wash your hands frequently, and avoid crowds. Individuals with underlying health conditions and those that are older should remain in their home and not be around others as much as possible. Please remember, if you are having difficulty breathing, go to an emergency room or call 911.

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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