LA County's Coronavirus Infection Rate Is Now 1-1, Down From 3-1

Los Angeles County has reduced the rate of COVID-19's spread from three people for every one person infected to just one, according to public health officials.

The infectiousness of the new coronavirus is one of the factors that has concerned health officials, and county public health director Barbara Ferrer attributes much of the success in slowing the disease's spread to the cooperation of everyone who has been taking precautions such as physical distancing and wearing a face covering.

A NEW RECOVERY DASHBOARD

As part of its effort to monitor how well the coronavirus pandemic is being contained, Los Angeles County is launching a new recovery dashboard.

Ferrer said the new website will include specific indicators the county is relying on to make decisions about when to further relax restrictions and when new ones may need to be introduced.

"And there are two important questions that we need to always be answering through our recovery journey. The first question is: How capable are we of slowing the spread of COVID-19? This means do we have everything we need in place to make sure we can continue to slow the spread. And the second question we ask is: How effective are we at preventing the spread of COVID-19? This would help us understand if the actions we're taking together are really continuing to work."

Here are the indicators the county is watching to help answer those questions.

HOW CAPABLE ARE WE OF SLOWING THE SPREAD OF COVID-19?

1. At least 10% of beds in intensive care units available
2. At least 20% of ventilators available
3. At least 60% of all hospitals have a 15-day supply or more of personal protective equipment
4. 90% of all newly reported cases are followed up within a day
5. 15,000 COVID-19 tests a day

HOW EFFECTIVE ARE WE AT PREVENTING THE SPREAD OF COVID-19?

1. Average daily deaths decreased or remained stable for last 14 days
2. No increases in specific groups by race, ethnicity and income to ensure the county's actions are not increasing health inequities
3. Average number of people currently hospitalized decreased or stable
4. 90% of nursing homes with one or more reported case are offered testing for all staff and residents in a timely manner

TODAY'S NUMBERS

Ferrer reported 47 new deaths of COVID-19 patients. The total number of deaths countywide now stands at 1,755.

She also reported 962 new confirmed cases of coronavirus today, bringing the total to at least 36,259 cases countywide. That total includes 1,157 cases reported in Long Beach and 662 in Pasadena (those two cities operate their own health departments).

Of the 47 people who’ve died, 37 were over 65 and, of those victims, 30 had underlying health conditions, Ferrer said. Five people were between 41 and 65 and two of them had underlying health conditions.

Ferrer also provided a demographic breakdown of the confirmed deaths, based on information for 1,615 of the victims. Those death rates are listed below as the number of deaths for every 100,000 people in the given group:

• 55-150 - Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander (unstable because of the low overall number of deaths)
• 22 - African American
• 19 - Latino/Latina
• 15 - Asian
• 11 White

So far, 92% of those who have died had underlying health conditions, Ferrer said. About 16% of all cases have resulted in hospitalization. Fully 40% are 65 years or younger, which means a lot of people in different age groups who also have underlying conditions have become seriously ill, and some have died, she said.

Of those hospitalized today, 16% are in ICU, and 19% are on ventilators, she said.

L.A. County now has results back on more than 282,000 COVID-19 tests, with 11% returning positive.

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