Monday, May 25, 2020

County Reports 12 New COVID-19 Deaths on Monday

CITY NEWS SERVICE

County health officials confirmed 12 new deaths and 1,047 new cases of the Coronavirus on Monday.

The numbers are among the lowest reported by the county since the pandemic began two months ago.

“On this Memorial Day, as we join with those mourning the loss of their loved ones to COVID -19, including the families of the 1100 veterans who recently passed away from COVID-19, we want to honor the memory of all the members of the armed forces who courageously gave of themselves to protect our country,” said Barbara Ferrer, director of public health. “We take to heart the lessons of courage and caring that mark this day of remembrance. As we prepare to re-open many places and spaces that are still closed, it will require an extraordinary effort by all of us to prevent outbreaks among workers and residents. Please take care of each other by wearing a face covering, keeping your distance when around others not in your household, avoiding crowds, washing your hands often, and isolating when you are positive for COVID-19 or a close contact of someone who is positive. Let us move forward with the awareness that our actions save lives.”

To date, Public Health has identified 46,018 positive cases of the virus across all areas of LA County, and a total of 2,116 deaths. Ninety-three percent of people who died had underlying health conditions.

Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 1,949 people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health) 40 percent of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 29 percent among White residents, 17 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. Upon further investigation, seventeen cases reported earlier were not LA County residents.

As of today, 6,190 people who tested positive for COVID-19 (13 percent of positive cases) have been hospitalized at some point during their illness.

There are 1,440 people who are currently hospitalized, 28 percent of these people are in the ICU and 18 percent are on ventilators. Testing capacity continues to increase in LA County, with testing results available for nearly 490,000 individuals and 8 percent of people testing positive.

Seven people who died were over the age of 65 years old and one person who died was between the ages of 18 and 40 years old. Seven people over the age of 65 years old had underlying health conditions. Two deaths were reported by the City of Long Beach and two deaths by the City of Pasadena.

The current Health Officer Order that replaces the previous Health Officer Order allows for the reopening of beach bike paths and parking lots, indoor mall curbside service, and select vehicle parades. Retailers remain closed to public entry along with beach piers, and public and private gatherings of any number of people outside of a single household unit are still not permitted. Everyone must continue to follow distancing and infection control protocols, stay at least six feet apart and wear a clean cloth face covering that securely covers both your nose and mouth when in contact with other people not in your household. The Health Officer Order continues to require specific higher-risk businesses to remain closed and prohibit dining in at restaurants. Restaurants are still allowed to serve food to customer via delivery, take-out or drive-thru.

The best protection against COVID-19 continues to be to wash your hands frequently, avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, self-isolate if you are sick, and to practice physical distancing and wear a clean face covering when in contact with others from outside your household. People who have underlying health conditions remain at much greater risk for serious illness from COVID-19, so it will continue to be very important for the County’s vulnerable residents to stay at home as much as possible, to have groceries and medicine delivered, and to call their providers immediately if they have even mild symptoms.

LA County is in stage two of the five-stage Roadmap to Recovery and until the final stage five is reached, Health Officer Orders and directives will continue to ensure that we slow spread of COVID-19 to prevent an overwhelming surge of COVID-19 cases at healthcare facilities. The Health Officer Order, 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.