Los Angeles County Health officials today reported another 59 deaths due to COVID-19, bringing the countywide death toll to 1,000.
Of today's casualties, L.A. County health officials say 92% of all deaths due to coronavirus in the county have had underlying health conditions.
The grim milestone was matched by health officials also reporting another 597 new cases of coronavirus. That brings the total number of confirmed cases in L.A. County to 20,976.
“LA County has hit the tragic milestone of 1,000 people dying from COVID-19. Please know that if you are grieving the loss of loved ones who have died from COVID-19, our thoughts and prayers are with you, your family, and your friends. We wish you healing and peace,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health.
Dr. Ferrer also pointed to the fact that there had been over 450 deaths from COVID-19 among nursing home residents, which has " amplified the cracks in our society, including the care and protection of people who are older and medically fragile."
"While managers and staff at all our skilled nursing facilities are doing their very best under difficult circumstances to care for their residents, we are still seeing many cases and deaths among residents and staff in these facilities," Dr. Ferrer said in a statement Tuesday. "We need to accelerate our ability to quickly identify and isolate asymptomatic, as well as symptomatic, residents and staff, and quarantine those who are close contacts. We are grateful for the partnership with the Department of Health Services and the assistance from the Governor and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to expeditiously offer testing and strengthen infection control practices at all our nursing homes."
Testing capacity has also increased in L.A. County with testing results for more than 133,000 individuals available, with about 14% of those testing positive.
The number of confirmed cases around Southern California include:
- Los Angeles County: 20,976 cases - 1,000 deaths
- Orange County: 2,151 cases - 42 deaths
- Riverside County: 3,643 cases - 141 deaths
- Ventura County: 497 cases - 17 deaths
- San Bernardino County: 1,751 cases - 82 deaths
- San Diego County: 3,141 cases - 113 deaths
Statewide, there are more than 45,244 cases with at least 1,810 deaths reported. According to data collected by Johns Hopkins University, there are more than 1,003,328 cases nationwide with the death toll reaching 57,533 by Tuesday afternoon.