L.A. County Reaches 11,000 COVID-19 Deaths as Hospitalizations Increase to Critical Levels

224 New Deaths and 13,512 New Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

 

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has tragically reported more than 11,000 confirmed COVID-19 deaths. To date, Public Health identified 840,611 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 11,071 deaths.

Today, Public Health confirmed 224 new deaths and 13,512 new cases of COVID-19.   L.A. County has experienced more than 1,000 new COVID-19 deaths in less than a week when on December 30, Public Health reported 10,056 deaths.

There are 7,898 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 21% of these people are in the ICU.  This is a new high and an increase of more than 200 patients reported yesterday.

Healthcare workers and hospitals continue to be taxed and overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients.  The devastating impact of the pandemic is disrupting emergency medical care due to the sheer volume of COVID-19 patients and staffing limitations. These challenges will get worse if we don’t slow COVID-19 spread.

Of the 224 new deaths reported today, one death was reported by the City of Long Beach and one death was reported by the City of Pasadena.

“To the families and friends experiencing the sorrow of losing a loved one due to COVID-19, we send wishes for healing and peace,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “L.A. County reached the terrible milestone of more than 11,000 deaths due to COVID-19. As a community, we must commit to stopping the spread of COVID-19 in its tracks so that we can save as many lives as possible. Roll out for COVID-19 vaccine continues in the phases recommended by the State and CDC as supply allows.  And while vaccines are a powerful tool, we do not need to wait for vaccine to stop new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and death. We can do that now. It takes every business and every resident to purposefully follow public health directives and safety measures. Please stay home and leave only for essential work or essential services.”

Public Health continues to track the impact of COVID-19 on expecting and new moms and newborns. As of December 28, there have been a total of five deaths among the 4,136 pregnant women that tested positive for COVID-19. Seventy-nine percent of pregnant women testing positive for COVID-19 are Latina/Latinx, 9% are White, 4% are African American/Black, 3% are Asian, less than 1% are Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, 2% identify with another race, and race/ethnicity was unknown or unspecified for 2%. Among the 2,053 births where there was testing information, 30 babies tested positive for the virus.

Expecting and new moms are encouraged to take extra care and remain home as much as possible to avoid exposure to COVID-19. If you are sick or positive for COVID-19 and breastfeeding, wear a mask while breastfeeding or bottle-feeding, and be sure to wash your hands before touching the baby or any pump or bottle before using. If possible, ask someone else to feed the baby your breastmilk by bottle. Public Health has detailed guidance for expecting and new moms available online.

While there are steps pregnant women and new mothers can take to lower the risk of being exposed to COVID-19, all residents and businesses must contribute to protecting others by using the tools we have to reduce transmission: implementing all requirements in the business protocols, staying home as much as possible, practicing physical distancing and always wearing a cloth face covering when out and around other people, washing or sanitizing hands frequently, isolating if you have tested positive for COVID-19 and quarantining if you have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for the virus.

For those who have just returned from a trip outside of Los Angeles County, you must quarantine in place for 10 days and monitor for symptoms for 14 days.  Get tested if you experience COVID-19 symptoms or possibly were exposed to someone who was positive.

Testing results are available for nearly 4,826,000 individuals with 16% of people testing positive.

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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