The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) had confirmed, by mid-week, 58 new deaths and 1,638 new cases of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). Forty-three people who died were over the age of 65 years old, 10 people who died were between the ages of 41 to 65 years old, and one person who died was between the ages of 18 to 40 years old. Forty-five people had underlying health conditions including 38 people over the age of 65 years old and seven people between the ages of 41 to 65 years old. Four deaths were reported by the City of Pasadena.
At press time, Public Health has identified 27,815 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of LA County, and a total of 1,313 deaths. Ninety-three percent of people who died had underlying health conditions. Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 1,201 people (99 percent of the cases); 38 percent of deaths occurred among Latinx residents, 28 percent among White residents, 19 percent among Asian residents, 12 percent among African-American residents, 1 percent among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander residents and 1 percent among residents identifying with other races.
African-Americans, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and people living in communities with high levels of poverty continue to have the highest rate of death per 100,000 people for COVID-19 when compared to other groups. Upon further investigation, 40 cases and one death reported earlier were not LA County residents. By mid-week, 5,081 people who tested positive for COVID-19 (19 percent of positive cases) have been hospitalized at some point during their illness. Testing capacity continues to increase in LA County, with testing results available for nearly 183,000 individuals and 13 percent of people testing positive.
“So many families are experiencing the pain of losing a loved one to COVID-19. We are very much with you, and you are in our thoughts and prayers every day,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, director of Public Health. “While we are all looking forward to businesses reopening and getting back to work, we must also do this safely to save lives and prevent an overwhelming of our healthcare system. Protecting the people who are most vulnerable is paramount through the reopening process.”
Public Health continues planning for recovery and relaxing select directives of the Safer at Home Order. As relaxing occurs, businesses and residents will need to continue to observe and practice physical distancing requirements and infection control precautions. Physical distancing, wearing cloth face coverings, frequent hand washing, self-isolation and self-quarantine will continue to be very important throughout the foreseeable future.
