The death toll from the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, has gone up by seven, L.A. County officials announced Monday afternoon. That brings the county's death toll to 44.
According to Dr. Barbara Ferrer, the head of the county's public health department, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases went up by an additional 342 cases on Monday, bringing the county's total number of infections to 2,474. 686 over the last 48 hours. Those included at least 99 cases in Long Beach and 10 cases reported by Pasadena. Both cities have their own health department separate from the county.
Dr. Ferrer said about 80% of COVID-19 have been found to occur in people between 18 and 65 and that 86% of people who tested positive and died from coronavirus had underlying health conditions.
“I want to thank everyone who is doing their part to slow the spread of COVID-19, both businesses and residents across the county who have met this moment with innovation and charity,” said Ferrer. “This situation is serious, and I applaud the essential employees who meet the daily challenge of keeping the public healthy and our community functioning, from public safety and healthcare workers, to grocery store clerks and food deliverers. The greatest service the general public can provide is to stay home, to self-isolate when sick and to self-quarantine if exposed. These measures will make the biggest impact in our efforts to mitigate the infection rate in the county.”
Cases have also been found at 25 different institutions, including 130 cases at 18 nursing homes or skilled nursing facilities. Eleven of those facilities have at least 3 or more cases - which Dr. Ferrer described as an 'outbreak.'
County officials also talked about how they were preparing for a surge of patients at hospitals, saying 82 acute care hospitals have at least 22,000 beds and 2,200 ICU beds. Currently, there are around 15,73 beds open, and 214 ICU beds available. There are 865 ventilators available with EMS having 170 more. An order for additional ventilators has been placed.
The county has also partnered with several hotels and motels in the region to help quarantine those who have tested positive for COVID-19, but may not otherwise remain at home.
In Orange County, health officials there reported an additional 37 coronavirus cases, raising the total to 464. No new deaths were reported today, leaving the county's total at four.
The number of confirmed cases around the Southland include:
- Los Angeles County: 2,474 - 44 deaths
- Orange County: 464 - 4 deaths
- Riverside County: 233 - 8 deaths
- Ventura County: 109 - 4 deaths
- San Bernardino County: 111 - 3 deaths
- San Diego County: 515 - 7 deaths.
Statewide, there are more than 6,400 cases with at least 134 deaths reported. Health officials say there are more than 95,000 cases with nearly 1,500 deaths nationwide.
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