LAist is part of Southern California Public Radio (SCPR), a member-supported public media network. Hear our news on-air at our partner site:
Los Angeles County's coronavirus task force delivered its daily update on the COVID-19 pandemic. Read highlights below or watch the full video above.
Starting today, another phase of business reopenings is in effect in L.A. County. It includes:
Effective today (Friday, June 19), the following sectors can reopen with physical distancing and infection control protocols in place. View the updated health order here: https://t.co/qembPbN4LC pic.twitter.com/Rf5mD3ItVo
— Los Angeles County (@CountyofLA) June 19, 2020
The county is working on guidelines for the next phase of the recovery plan, County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said. It includes:
"The state has authority on when many of these sectors will be able to reopen — during this process, we are committed to representing our communities and businesses while keeping our residents safe."
County officials reported 1,414 new confirmed cases of coronavirus today, bringing the total to at least 79,609 cases countywide. That increase is due in part to “a large backlog” in case reporting from one lab, according to County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer. In total, 2,888 cases have been reported in Long Beach and 1,099 in Pasadena (those two cities operate their own health departments).
County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer also reported 38 new deaths of COVID-19 patients. The total number of deaths countywide now stands at 3,063 people.
So far, 93% of those who have died had underlying health conditions, Ferrer said.
The death toll at institutional facilities in L.A. County continues to climb. Ferrer reported that 1,618 residents at those facilities have died, and nearly 90% lived in nursing homes.
"SIGNIFICANT DISPROPORTIONALITY" AMONG SOME ETHNIC GROUPS
Ferrer provided an update on the rates of death among ethnic groups in L.A. County.
"While the number of deaths has decreased slightly over time [and] daily death has decreased slightly across all groups, there continues to be significant disproportionality," Ferrer said.
She provided one dataset of rates per 100,000 residents in each ethnic group, which showed that Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, Latinos and Latinas, and Black Americans are dying from COVID-19 at a higher rate than in other communities.
DECLINE IN DAILY DEATHS
One metric that county health officials point to as an encouraging sign is the decrease in the average daily number of deaths.
Ferrer said we've come down from a high of 45 or 46 per day to "between 20 and 30 each day" in early June.
WEAR A MASK
This week, following the mask backlash in Orange County (where health officials rolled back a requirement that residents there wear face coverings) California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a new mandatory mask order that superseded counties' rules.
Ferrer had a simple message for people who aren't wearing masks because they think they don't need them: "It's not about you."
"It's about all the other people that could be around you. We just have to take care of each other. We're in the middle of a pandemic — nothing like we've ever experienced... We're just going to need to continue to wear face coverings for weeks to come. So I ask us all to do our part there, because you get to do your part. That's the good side of this: you can do something to save lives. You don't have to be a health care worker, you don't have to be the hero, you just have to wear your face cover and keep your distance, wash your hands, stay home if you're sick. We all have things we can do to slow the spread, and I know so many people are doing it, or we would not be where we are today."
MORE ON CORONAVIRUS: