Los Angeles County Sees Nearly 2,000 COVID-19 Deaths in One Week

287 New Deaths and 17,323 New Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

 

Los Angeles County has tragically experienced nearly 2,000 COVID-19 deaths in just a week, and marked another grim milestone of recording more than 13,000 total COVID-19 deaths.

To date, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) identified 975,299 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 13,234 deaths. Last Thursday, Public Health reported a total 11,545 COVID-19 deaths.

Today, Public Health confirmed 287 new deaths and 17,323 new cases of COVID-19.

Of the 287 new deaths reported today, 115 people who passed away were over the age of 80, 95 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, 47 people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64 and 13 people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49. Fifteen deaths were reported by the City of Long Beach and two deaths were reported by the City of Pasadena.

There are 7,906 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 21% of these people are in the ICU. The County has gone from under 800 people hospitalized with COVID-19 two months ago to slightly under 8,000 patients.  The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 must significantly decrease in order to relieve our overwhelmed hospitals and healthcare workers.

According to the State, the Southern California Region continues to have 0% ICU capacity remaining.

Public Health reports three additional deaths among pregnant women positive with COVID-19. As of January 11, there have been a total of eight deaths among the 5,009 pregnant women who 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, 4% 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 2,493 births where there was testing information, 37 babies tested positive for the virus.

Pregnant women are at an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19 and death. Public Health urges expecting and new moms 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.

“To the families and friends of the more than 13,000 L.A. County residents who have passed away from COVID-19, we send our deepest sympathies,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “When we ask our residents to stay home and follow the rules and businesses to follow the Health Officer Orders, it is to stop the loss of life from COVID-19.  This disease is running rampant right now, and we continue to plead with residents, businesses and government, the community to do all possible to stop the spread.”

While vaccine supply remains limited, we are moving as quickly as possible to vaccinate healthcare workers in Phase 1A. Once we receive additional vaccine from the State for Phase 1B, we will begin to offer vaccine to people 65 and older at various locations across the county. Visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com to learn about the vaccination phases, determine when you can get vaccinated, and sign-up for our COVID-19 vaccine newsletter.

Public Health will host a COVID-19 Vaccine Virtual Town Hall on Tuesday, January 19, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.  Join the town hall to learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine, how it was developed, where it will be distributed in our communities, and when it will be made available to the general public. The town hall will be streamed live on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube @lapublichealth. For more information and to submit a question, visit:  http://tinyurl.com/askcovidtownhall

Testing results are available for nearly 5,120,000 individuals with 18% 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.

Please see additional information below: