The death toll from COVID-19 cases in L.A. County continued to rise, with officials reporting another 22 deaths, bringing the county's death toll to 169. Health officials say 16 of those deaths were patients over the age of 65, all of whom had preexisting health conditions.
Dr. Barbara Ferrer, the head of L.A.'s Department of Public Health said the local mortality rate from the coronavirus continues to creep upward slightly as they confirm more cases.
Dr. Ferrer also reported another 550 cases of the coronavirus, bringing the county's total to 6,910. Of those, at least 869 patients are currently hospitalized, with 132 in intensive care. More than 1,500 people (22% of all known cases) have at one point been hospitalized for their symptoms.
Testing people for the coronavirus has still seen some issues, with Dr. Ferrer pointing out that some communities with a high number of people living in poverty, or close to poverty, haven't been tested as often as people living in more affluent neighborhoods.
"One thing that we know already is that testing is happening much less in communities where most of the people who are living are living in poverty or close to poverty," Ferrer said.
The number of confirmed cases around the Southland include:
- Los Angeles County: 6,360 cases - 147 deaths
- Orange County: 931 cases - 15 deaths
- Riverside County: 946 cases - 25 deaths
- Ventura County: 226 cases - 6 deaths
- San Bernardino County: 530 cases - 16 deaths
- San Diego County: 1,404 cases - 19 deaths.
Statewide, there are more than 16,429 cases with at least 397 deaths reported. Health officials say there are more than 386,821 cases nationwide with the death toll reaching 12,299 by Tuesday afternoon.