Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
LA County Saw A Spike In People Dying At Home In April
(Photo by Bryan Chan/ Courtesy Los Angeles County)
()
In April, Los Angeles County saw 53% more people dying at home than during the same period last year.
That’s according to an LAist analysis of case data received from the county’s Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner.
In April of this year, 438 people died at home, compared to 286 people last April (289 people died at home in April 2018, and 293 in 2017).
L.A. County Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner Dr. Jonathan Lucas told us many of these deaths are still under investigation, so it’s too early to tell why the numbers are up:
Support for LAist comes from
“There’s an increase. The only question is: How much of that is because people are at home during the safer-at-home orders, and how much is just really related to disease or other things that are going on?”
“I think that the Safer-at-Home order may have just shifted the location [of deaths]. Some of these things may have occurred anyway,” he said.
But the increase in deaths could also be attributed to people dying at home from COVID-19, or dying from heart attacks and strokes because they avoided the hospital, said Karin Michels, professor of epidemiology and chair at UCLA.
“So these drastic increases in mortality are a mix of corona[virus] deaths and death from other [diseases] -- mostly heart attack and strokes -- that are not appropriately treated,” Michels said.
“We want to know what's going on,” Lucas said. “Eventually, we will know more.”
Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter. To support our non-profit public service journalism: Donate Now.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars. -
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
Best of LAist