3 New Deaths In LA County; At Least 536 Sickened With Coronavirus

By Brian Frank

Published Mar 23, 2020 12:35 PM

Keep up with LAist.

If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.

Three more people have died because of the coronavirus pandemic and 128 new cases have been confirmed in L.A. County.

New numbers were shared by the county's public health director Dr. Barbara Ferrer at an afternoon briefing with other city and county officials. You can watch a replay above.

Ferrer at first reported only two new deaths, but the city of Long Beach also reported its first death today and Ferrer later confirmed this was in addition to the two she initially mentioned. The woman who died was in her 50s and had underlying health conditions.

Support for LAist comes from

Become a sponsor

The new numbers bring the county's total fatalities due to coronavirus to eight and confirmed cases to 536. That includes 17 cases in Long Beach and three in Pasadena.

Ferrer said 80% of the cases have been people between 18-65, and 42% have been people between 18-40.

"This virus can, in fact, infect people across the board, and all people need to be vigilant and practice every directive that's been issued at the state, county, and local level," Ferrer said.

About 10% of those tested have tested positive, and about 17% of that group, or 90 people, have been hospitalized, Ferrer said.

Ferrer reiterated that the city's order was updated over the weekend to be more in line with the state's and now prohibits all gatherings and events. She said it also clarifies that even grooming services such as hair and nail salons fall under the business closure order.

"You cannot be in spaces in places where you are not able to socially distance, and that means you need to keep apart from each other at least by 6 feet. We need your help. Social distancing isn't a 'Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don't.' For this to be successful, we all need to practice social distancing all of the time, particularly when we're in any public spaces."

Some firefighters have also been exposed to the virus and are now being isolated at home, according to L.A. Fire Department Chief Daryl Osby. However, Osby would not provide numbers and it was unclear whether the self-quarantining was precautionary or whether those emergency responders were ill. He did say they were "resting comfortably" at home.

During the briefing, L.A. city councilman David Ryu also announced that under a new agreement with South Korean manufacturer Seegene, the county has acquired 20,000 new coronavirus testing kits, with the ability to locally run and process 5,000 tests per day starting Friday. The tests will be free to the public. Health care workers and first responders will be prioritized for testing first.