L.A. County Surpasses 900,000 COVID-19 Cases and 12,000 Deaths; Three New MIS-C Cases in Children Confirmed

221 New Deaths and 16,982 New Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has reported a total of 906,171 confirmed COVID-19 cases across Los Angeles County and a total of 12,084 deaths. Today, Public Health confirmed 221 new deaths and 16,982 new cases of COVID-19.

L.A. County has experienced more than 1,000 new COVID-19 deaths in the last 4 days and more than 100,000 new cases this past week.

This sustained surge in cases continues to drive thousands of residents every day to seek care at already overwhelmed hospitals across L.A. County.

There are 7,966 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 22% of these people are in the ICU. According to the State, the Southern California Region continues to have 0% ICU capacity remaining.

The only way to reduce the demand on hospital care and save lives is to decrease the number of people becoming newly infected with COVID-19.

Of the 221 new deaths reported today, 79 people that passed away were over the age of 80, 68 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, 51 people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, and 14 people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49. Seven deaths were reported by the City of Long Beach and two deaths were reported by the City of Pasadena.

Public Health is reporting three additional cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). This brings the total cases of MIS-C in L.A. County to 54 children including one child death. All 54 children with MIS-C in L.A. County were hospitalized and 50% of the children were treated in the ICU. Of the children with MIS-C, 30% were under the age of 5 years old, 37% were between the ages of 5 and 11 years old, and 33% were between the ages of 12 and 20 years old. Latino/Latinx children account for nearly 74% of the reported cases.

MIS-C is an inflammatory condition associated with COVID-19 and symptoms include fever that does not go away and inflamed body parts, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs. If you believe your child is displaying MIS-C symptoms, contact your primary care provider. If you do not have a primary care provider, dial 2-1-1 and L.A. County will help connect you to one.

“To the families and friends experiencing the sorrow of losing of a loved one due to COVID-19, we send you our deepest condolences,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “This is another devasting day for Los Angeles County. The speed with which we are reaching grim milestones of COVID-19 deaths and cases is a devasting reflection of the immense spread that is occurring across the County.  And this accelerated spread reflects the many unsafe actions individuals took over holidays.  The travel and inter-mingling with non-household members made it much easier for transmission of the virus. As a result, there is so much more risk when engaging in any activity that has you exposed to people outside your household. The best way to protect ourselves, slow the spread, and stop overwhelming our hospitals, is to pause participating in any activities that aren’t absolutely essential.  This is just not the time to go to the shopping mall or to a friend’s house to watch a basketball or football game.”

Public Health strongly urges everyone to stay home as much as possible during this devastating surge.  Only go out for essential services. When you must leave your home, wear a face covering and stay at least 6 feet away from people you do not live with at all times, no mingling, no crowding, and wash hands frequently. And for those individuals that live with people who are older or have underlying health conditions, wearing a face covering while indoors is now advisable.

If you have symptoms or test positive for COVID-19, isolate immediately from your family and others. Individuals with underlying health conditions and those that are older should remain in their home and not be around others unless seeking essential health and dental care. If you are having severe symptoms including difficulty breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, inability to wake or stay awake and/or bluish lips or face, go to an emergency room or call 911.

Testing results are available for more than 4,960,000 individuals with 17% 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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