L.A. County officials announced today there have been an additional 128 number of COVID-19 cases confirmed in the county, bringing the total to 662. There have been 256 new cases reported over the last 48 hours.
Dr. Barbara Ferrer, the head of the county's public health department also reported an additional four deaths in L.A. county, bringing it to 11. One of the deaths was a person under the age of 18, who lived in Lancaster, but no other details were released about that patient.
One of the other three patients who died was elderly and had underlying health conditions.
Dr. Ferrer stressed that as testing increases in the county, we would begin seeing a rise in cases. She reminded people that get tested should act as if they are positive and immediately isolate themselves as well as informing their closest contacts so they can also self-isolate.
“Social distancing is one very important tool that we use, but the second tool that we need to ask for your cooperation on is adhering to isolation and quarantine orders,” she said. “Isolation is required by law for anyone positive for COVID-19 or whose clinician has told them they're likely to be positive.”
Test results can take several days, Dr. Ferrer said, adding that people should assume they're positive while waiting for their results.
The number of confirmed cases around the Southland include:
- Los Angeles County: 662
- Orange County: 152
- Riverside County: 46
- Ventura County: 35
- San Bernardino County: 17
- San Diego County: 226
Long Beach health officials, which runs their own health department, separate from L.A. county, reported an additional 7 cases of the novel coronavirus, bringing their total to 28 and raising the county's overall total to 669. Five of those people have recovered. Two students at Cal State Long Beach tested positive for COVID-19 - one of whom is a Long Beach resident.
Pasadena, which also has its own health department, has reported a total of six cases, which is included in the county's total.
Of those who have the virus, Ferrer said approximately 42% of them are people aged 18-40, while 39% are aged 41-65. More than 7,500 people have been tested in the county, with about ten percent of those cases coming back positive.
The county also encouraged people to take advantage of mental health resources that have been made available for anyone who might be feeling overwhelmed by the outbreak.
“Please take care of yourself. You are not alone,” County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said.
The county's mental health department has a hotline available for anyone to call at 800-854-7771. The hotline offers residents information on where they can find available resources.
To keep up to date on the latest news about the coronavirus and to understand what you need to stay safe and healthy, check out the Coronavirus: Fact vs Fiction podcast from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.