Friday, June 19, 2020

Health Officials: County Making Progress in Virus Fight, Despite Deaths, Cases

CITY NEWS SERVICE

As more businesses reopen, Los Angeles County health officials Friday offered assurance that local indicators tracking the pace of coronavirus were continuing to decrease or hold steady, but they again stressed the importance of wearing face coverings to prevent COVID-19 from spiking.

“I get a lot of questions about why this is important, especially from individuals who are not worried about becoming infected themselves,” public health director Barbara Ferrer said. “The important issue here is that we’re not asking you to wear the face covering to protect yourself. We ask you to cover your mouth and nose to protect others, especially since you can be infected with COVID-19 and have no symptoms of illness.

“… Even if you tested negative, that negative test result only tells you your status the day you were tested,” she said. “You could easily become infected the very next day and unknowingly pass COVID-19 onto others.”

Ferrer’s comments came one day after Gov.

Thursday, June 18, 2020

County Reports 36 New COVID-19 Deaths

1,051 new cases confirmed on Thursday

CITY NEWS SERVICE

County health officials confirmed 36 new deaths along with 1,051 new cases of the Coronavirus on Thursday.

To date, 78,227 cases have been reported and 3,027 deaths.

“To the many families who are mourning loved ones lost to COVID-19, please accept our heartfelt sympathies,” said Barbara Ferrer, director of public health. “COVID-19 has impacted everyone across the county, and we are all feeling exhausted by the safety requirements, yet we still have to find it within ourselves to do our part to protect each other from the spread of the virus. As more sectors re-open, we risk losing all the progress we have made in slowing the spread, if we don’t take every precaution possible to prevent exposing others and ourselves to the virus.”

A modified health officer order and directives for the reopening of additional businesses is being issued today with an effective date of June 19.

Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Visitation Resumes at Pasadena Nursing Homes with Restrictions

Facilities cannot have new COVID-19 numbers for 28 days

CITY NEWS SERVICE

County officials announced on Monday that visitation can now resume at nursing facilities with some restrictions.

Family and friends can visit their loved ones at facilities that have not had any new COVID-19 infections for 28 days.

“It’s highly unlikely that you’ll see relaxing across the board at all of the (skilled nursing facilities) given the fact that they do need to be 28 days out with no new cases,” said County Health Director Barbara Ferrer. “But visitors with fever or COVID-19 symptoms will not be permitted to enter into a facility. Visitors are going to need to practice distancing of at least six feet. Everyone will need to wear their face mask at all times and signs will be posted with additional rules at each of the facilities and shared with visitors.”

The announcement came the same day that county health officials reported a record-high single-day number of coronavirus cases.

Wednesday, June 17, 2020

County Reports Record-High COVID-19 Numbers

2,129 new cases confirmed on Wednesday

CITY NEWS SERVICE

County health officials reported a record-high single-day number of coronavirus cases on Wednesday when 2,129 new cases and 34 deaths were reported.

County Health Director Barbara Ferrer said at least 600 of those cases were the result of a backlog of results from one testing facility.

“We’re getting dumps of lab reports that were not submitted to us in a timely way,” Ferrer said as she urged testing facilities to immediately turn in their data to the county.

The numbers pushed the overall total to 77,189 and 2,992 deaths.

The rate of people who are tested who wind up being positive for COVID-19 is also holding steady at 8%, officials said.

But they warned that people should not get complacent — stressing the virus is still spreading in the community and residents need to keep taking precautions, even as the economy reopens.

Tuesday, June 16, 2020

County COVID-19 Case Count Passes 75,000 Mark

Grim death toll nears 3,000

CITY NEWS SERVICE

County health officials reported 33 new Coronavirus deaths and 1,337 new cases on Tuesday.

To date the county has identified 75,084 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of LA County, and a total of 2,959 deaths.

“Each day, we are thinking of the many families who are grieving for loved ones lost to COVID-19. Our hearts go out to you, and we wish you healing and peace,” said Barbara Ferrer, director of Public Health. “Thank you for continuing to look out for each other by following protocols for reopening, keeping physical distancing and always wearing cloth face coverings when around other people. These are significant actions – and with an increase in the number of people infected with COVID-19, these actions are absolutely necessary to make sure we continue to slow the spread.”

Health officials said everyone must continue to follow distancing and infection control directives 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.

Monday, June 15, 2020

County Announces 19 New COVID-19 Deaths

1,071 New Cases of Confirmed on Monday

CITY NEWS SERVICE

County health officials reported 19 new deaths and confirmed 1,071 new cases of the Coronavirus.

To date, health officials have identified 73,791 positive cases of the virus, and a total of 2,926 deaths.

“There are many families across our County who are experiencing the sorrow of losing a loved one to COVID-19. Please know that our thoughts and prayers are with you every day,” said Barbara Ferrer, director of Public Health. “Contact tracing is a confidential and simple process that has been used by public health departments for decades to slow the spread of infectious diseases and avoid outbreaks. When a person tests positive for COVID-19, it is important to find out where that person has been and who they were in close contact with while they could transmit the disease to others, so that anyone who may have been exposed knows that they may also be positive.

Thursday, June 11, 2020

County Reports Highest Number of COVID-19 Cases in One Day

CITY NEWS SERVICE

County health officials reported 46 new deaths and 1,857 new cases of the Coronavirus on Thursday.

Although this is the highest number of new cases reported in a day, 600 cases are from a backlog of test results.

To date, Public Health has identified 68,875 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of LA County, and a total of 2,813 deaths.

“Each day, we are thinking of the many people across LA County who have lost loved ones to COVID-19. You are in our prayers, and we hope you find healing during this difficult time,” said Barbara Ferrer, director of Public Health. “Reopening businesses and public spaces safely requires everyone to continue to make physical distancing, wearing cloth face coverings and other infection control practices a part of day-to-day life. We have shown that we can work together on slowing the spread of COVID-19, and we need to continue to do so through our recovery journey to prevent huge increases in cases,

Wednesday, June 10, 2020

County Health Officials Say Rate of Spread COVID-19 Increasing

CITY NEWS SERVICE

County health officials say data again shows that the rate of coronavirus spread has increased in recent weeks, and that increase could put pressure on the availability of intensive-care unit beds in the coming weeks.

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed 61 new deaths and 1,275 new cases of the Coronavirus.

To date, health officials have identified 67,064 cases of the virus across all areas of LA County, and a total of 2,768 deaths.

“There is, unequivocally, asymptomatic spread,” said Los Angeles County Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer. “I don’t want anyone to get confused that people who are asymptomatic may not be capable of spreading. They are in fact capable of spreading and we all need to keep that in mind,”

The news of the possible crisis comes as Los Angeles County announced it will modify its health order tomorrow, allowing the reopening of more businesses beginning Friday,

Monday, June 8, 2020

L.A. County Looks for Ways to Support Businesses in Reopening

By ELIZABETH MARCELLINO, City News Service

As restaurants welcome diners back and other retail businesses open their doors to customers under Los Angeles County’s revised public health guidelines, the Board of Supervisors Tuesday will consider ways to support those businesses.

Supervisors Hilda Solis and Janice Hahn co-authored a motion calling for grants of up to $3,000 for businesses with less than 100 employees to help them pay for masks, hand sanitizer and other safety-related supplies.

Ensuring compliance with public health regulations is critical not just to limiting the possibility of a surge in coronavirus cases, but to consumer confidence, the supervisors said.

“The challenge will be bringing consumers back. Consumer spending is two-thirds of the United States (gross domestic product). Our confidence in our ability to interact with others while staying healthy has been diminished. Absent a vaccine, businesses will have to find a way to convince consumers to shop or eat out, to travel, or go to a concert or a game,”

Monday, June 8, 2020

Let’s Feed LA County: Drive-thru Food Giveaway Scheduled for Thursday

Altadena residents can come pick up food at the local Drive-Thru Food Giveaway from 9 a.m. to noon on Thursday, June 11 at the LA County Public Works Yard located at 252 Mountain View St.

The project was organized by the Altadena Town Council, Let’s Feed LA County and Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, in collaboration with the LA County Food Bank, the county Department of Public Works, and the LA County Library.

“People across L.A. County need support,” Barger posted on Twitter Monday. “Residents can pick up food at the Altadena giveaway on Thursday, June 11. There are lots of opportunities in many communities where you can get food or serve as a volunteer. Visit http://covid19.lacounty.gov/food to find one close to home.”

This will be a drive-thru distribution only and no walk-ups will be entertained. Entry to the food giveaway area is only on Figueroa Drive. The line formation begins at 8:30 a.m., a notice about the event said. Everyone is advised to wear a face covering.