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LA County Reports Highest Daily Death Toll So Far From Coronavirus
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Los Angeles County officials are reporting 399 new confirmed cases of coronavirus today, bringing the total to at least 10,854 cases countywide. That includes 379 cases in the city of Long Beach and 184 cases in Pasadena (both cities operate their own health departments).
L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer also reported 55 new deaths of COVID-19 patients. She noted:
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This is the highest daily total we've reported after reporting high totals both yesterday and the day before — and it really reflects the devastating power of COVID-19.
Of those victims, 88% had underlying health conditions, Ferrer said, which underscores "the need for all of us to work together so that we make it possible for those who have underlying health issues to remain safe in their homes.”
Ferrer said 43 of the 55 deaths were people over the age of 65 and 39 of those individuals had underlying health conditions. Nine people who died were between the ages of 41 and 65, and all had underlying health conditions.
Here are some other key figures reported today:
- More than 70,000 people have been tested for COVID-19 and had the results reported to county health officials. Of those tests, 11% have been positive.
- There are currently 1,587 people hospitalized with COVID-19. Of those individuals, 32% are in the ICU, with 22% on ventilators.
- In total 2,847 people who've tested positive for coronavirus in L.A. County have "at some point" been hospitalized, Ferrer said, which represents 26% of all positive cases.
- The county reported that 158 of those who've died were residents at institutional facilities, which include rehab centers, convalescent hospitals and nursing homes. Those victims represent more than a third (35%) of all deaths countywide, Ferrer noted.
- The county health department is currently investigating 209 institutional facilities where there's at least one confirmed case of COVID-19. The county reports that 1,050 residents at those facilities and 913 staff members have tested positive, for a total of 1,963 cases confirmed cases.
- There are now 71 confirmed cases in county jail facilities. Fifteen inmates and 56 staff members have tested positive, though two of those inmates have reportedly recovered, Ferrer noted.
- There are 50 confirmed cases in the state prisons — 39 inmates and 11 staff.
Ferrer also provided a racial breakdown of the confirmed deaths, based on information confirmed for 390 of the victims. According to the latest available information:
- 16% African American [9% of county residents]
- 17% Asian [15.4% of county residents]
- 33% Latino or Latina [48.6% of county residents]
- 31% White [26.1% of county residents]
- 2% identified as belonging to a different race or ethnicity
Ferrer closed her portion of the media briefing by saying our collective efforts to slow the spread of coronavirus are working. She also gave the slightest glimmer of hope:
"Every day, we're getting closer to being able to see a time when more people are going to be able to go back to work, and there'll be more places that will be open. We're never going to be able to go back to exactly the way it was before COVID-19, but we are moving towards being on the other side of this pandemic."
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