[ad_1]
WEDNESDAY’S UPDATE: August 26, 2020
Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer reported 198 cases per 100,000 residents. County officials say Los Angeles has met five of the state’s six indicators to get off the list – and is getting closer to meeting the sixth. That sixth indicator is getting the case rate to less than 100 per 100,000 residents.
Officials also confirmed 58 new deaths and 1,642 additional cases, bringing the county’s total to 5,663 deaths and 235,386 cases.
Counties on the watch list must have additional business closures beyond what is already required statewide, including gyms and fitness centers, beauty salons and shopping malls, among others.
Separate from the watch list, Gov. Gavin Newsom has allowed other counties the discretion to reopen schools for in-person learning when the rate has gone below 200 cases per 100,000 residents.
MONDAY’S UPDATE: August 24, 2020
Los Angeles County officials reported 989 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday – the first time that daily update has been under 1,000 cases since early June. In mid-July the county was reporting an average of 3,200 cases per day.
The county also reported 51 additional deaths.
SUNDAY’S UPDATE: August 23, 2020
Los Angeles County reported another 1,098 cases of COVID-19 and eight additional deaths on Sunday, bringing the county’s totals to 231,695 cases and 5,545 fatalities.
The relatively lower number of cases and deaths was attributed to reporting delays over the weekend.
Officials have hailed declining hospitalization numbers and testing-positivity rates in recent weeks as signs the county has been successfully slowing the spread of COVID-19. Those numbers continued to trend in the right direction Sunday, with hospitalizations falling from 1,280 Saturday to 1,247, and 33% percent of those in intensive care.
An average of roughly 2,200 hospital patients were seen in mid-July.
Testing results were available for 2,182,882 individuals as of Sunday, with 10% of all people testing positive.
Officials noted that despite the encouraging trends, the virus is far from under control.
I want to extend my sincere sympathy to all our L.A. County residents that are grieving the loss of a family member, friend, co-worker or loved one. Your loss is not unnoticed, and we keep you in our hearts during these days of sadness,” Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said.
The positive trends that the county is seeing are encouraging and reflect less transmission of the virus at workplaces and in the community. We must continue taking all the actions that got us to this place. Residents are urged to physically distance from those not in their household, wash hands frequently, avoid gatherings and crowds, and wear a clean cloth face covering that securely covers both their nose and mouth when in contact with others not part of their household. These are the actions we each take for each other that help the county in its recovery efforts.”
Taking part in an ABC7 online question-and-answer session Friday, Ferrer noted that two weeks after the Fourth of July weekend, the county had our worst-ever surge in cases and hospitalizations.”
Of course, we’re looking to what we can do differently around Labor Day,” Ferrer said.
She didn’t offer any specifics in terms of what steps might be taken to prevent a repeat of the post-July 4 and Memorial Day spikes, but Ferrer said she hopes people take heed of the public-gathering restrictions during the upcoming Labor Day weekend.
Ferrer noted recently that the county now meets five of the state’s six criteria for controlling infections, falling short only in the per-capita rate of people testing positive for the virus.
Until the county meets all six of the criteria, it will remain on the state’s coronavirus monitoring list, which prevents more businesses from reopening and requires school campuses to remain closed.
L.A. County was one of 35 counties on the watchlist as of Sunday.
Orange County was removed from the list this weekend.
City News Service contributed to this report.
SATURDAY’S UPDATE: August 22, 2020
Los Angeles County reported another 1,644 cases of COVID-19 and 48 more deaths on Saturday, bringing the county’s totals to 230,662 cases and 5,537 fatalities.
Officials have hailed declining hospitalization numbers and testing-positivity rates in recent weeks as signs that the county has been successfully slowing the spread of COVID-19. Those numbers continued to trend in the right direction Saturday, with hospitalizations falling from 1,347 on Friday to 1,280, and 33% percent of those in intensive care.
An average of roughly 2,200 hospital patients were seen in mid-July.
Testing results were available for 2,168,595 individuals as of Saturday, with 10% of all people testing positive.
Officials noted that despite the encouraging trends, the virus is far from under control.
“Though there are promising signs that our collective efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 are working, we are sad to report today that more Angelenos have lost their lives to COVID-19, and their loved ones are in our hearts as they mourn,” Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said.
“As we begin another hot summer weekend in Southern California, it’s important that we remain mindful of all the precautions we have to continue to take if we want to decrease community transmission enough to re-open schools. Being around people who aren’t part of your household puts you and them at a greater risk for COVID-19, which is why it is so important to stay at home as much as possible and avoid all gatherings, of any size, with people who are not part of your household.”
Taking part in an ABC7 online question-and-answer session Friday, Barbara Ferrer noted that two weeks after the Fourth of July weekend, the county had “our worst-ever surge in cases and hospitalizations.”
“Of course, we’re looking to what we can do differently around Labor Day,” Ferrer said.
She didn’t offer any specifics in terms of what steps might be taken to prevent a repeat of the post-July 4 and Memorial Day spikes, but Ferrer said she hopes people take heed of the public-gathering restrictions during the upcoming Labor Day weekend.
Ferrer noted recently that the county now meets five of the state’s six criteria for controlling infections, falling short only in the per-capita rate of people testing positive for the virus.
Until the county meets all six of the criteria, it will remain on the state’s coronavirus monitoring list, which prevents more businesses from reopening and requires school campuses to remain closed.
Younger residents continue to make up the majority of positive new cases. Of the new cases reported Saturday, 71% are of people under the age of 50 years old. Residents between the ages of 30 and 49 have the highest number of new cases among all age groups in L.A. County, 35% of Saturday’s new cases.
City News Service contributed to this report.
FRIDAY’S UPDATE: August 21, 2020
Los Angeles County public health officials on Friday reported an additional 46 deaths and 1,759 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the region’s total to 5,491 deaths and 229,054 confirmed cases.
There were 1,347 confirmed cases hospitalized and 32% of those were confirmed cases in the ICU.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health also reported nine additional cases of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) on Friday, which brings the total cases of MIS-C in the county to 25 children.
Officials said 28% of those cases were between the ages of 0 and 5 years old, 44% were between the ages of 6 and 12 years old, and 28% were between the ages of 13 and 20 years old. The majority of cases, 68%, were Latino.
No children with MIS-C in Los Angeles County have died.
Mayor Eric Garcetti also announced the city’s L.A. Al Fresco, an outdoor dining program launched amid the pandemic, will be extended through the end of this year.
THURSDAY’S UPDATE: August 20, 2020
Los Angeles County officials have released new data examining the underlying causes and common factors involved in the county’s COVID-19 deaths.
Of the 5,446 deaths the county has seen since the start of the pandemic, 92% of the people had underlying health conditions. Hypertension and diabetes were the leading conditions, while neurologic conditions and cardiovascular disease were also common.
Still, the county along with California as a while is seeing improvements in its positivity rates and hospitalizations. The county was averaging about 3,200 new cases during the surge in July and now that figure is closer to 2,000 per day according to Dr. Jeffrey Gunzenhauser with LA County Department of Public Health.
The positivity rate is around 250 people per 100,000 living in the county. If the rate drops below 200, that would allow pre-K to 6th grade schools to reopen. Getting the number down below 100 would get Los Angeles off the state’s county watchlist.
WEDNESDAY’S UPDATE: August 19, 2020
Los Angeles County officials on Wednesday reported an additional 61 deaths and 1,956 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the region’s total to 5,392 deaths and 225,827 confirmed cases.
Nearly 1,400 people in the county are currently hospitalized with the virus.
RELATED: LA County updates from the month of July are available here.
Copyright © 2020 KABC-TV. All Rights Reserved.
[ad_2]
Source link