The number of deaths due to the novel coronavirus, COVID-19 reached a grim milestone on Thursday as L.A. County officials reported another 46 deaths, due to the virus bringing the county's death toll to 2,016.
Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of the county Department of Public Health also announced another 1,204 cases of COVID-19, bringing the county's overall total to 42,037. About 76% of all confirmed coronavirus cases in the county have been among people between the age of 18 and 65.
“This is the age group that makes up the majority of our workforce,'' Ferrer said. “So as more people are going back to work, it's an important reminder that people at the workplace may be infected, even if they aren't feeling sick. And we need our employers and our employees to work together to make sure that employees and customers are in an environment that's as safe as possible.''
However, while the number of confirmed cases continues to rise, Ferrer noted that there were several signs that infections were on a downward slope. Ferrer pointed to figures released earlier this week that showed people who have tested positive for COVID-19 have been infecting an average of less than one other person, far lower than when the pandemic began.
“This is very good news,'' she said. “And it shows that what we're doing over the past few weeks -- staying at home, the physical distancing, wearing our cloth face coverings -- has resulted in a reduced number of infections from what we would have had had we not taken any actions.''
Testing results from a serology study that were released earlier this week, showed that 2.1% of test subjects were found to have antibodies to the virus in their systems, meaning they'd been infected at some point in the past. That's down from 4.1% in test subjects from one month ago.
The average daily death count due to COVID-19 has also decreased, with Ferrer noting that the county's seven-day average is now 37, down 12% over the prior seven-day period.
“All of this ... lets us know that the extraordinary efforts and sacrifices made by all of you are working,'' she said. “As a community, we've done this together and this progress is a direct reflection of what all of you in your day-to-day lives have been able to accomplish.
“... Through our recovery journey, as we're all out of our homes more, it may become more difficult to slow the spread, but it is far from impossible.''
The number of confirmed cases around Southern California include:
- Los Angeles County: 42,037 cases - 2,016 deaths
- Orange County: 4,841 cases - 112 deaths
- Riverside County: 6,184 cases - 270 deaths
- Ventura County: cases 858 cases - 29 deaths
- San Bernardino County: 3,795 cases - 158 deaths
- San Diego County: 6,140 cases - 230 deaths
Statewide, there are more than 86,228 cases with at least 3,501 deaths reported. According to data collected by Johns Hopkins University, there are more than 1,562,714 cases nationwide with the death toll reaching 93,863 by Thursday afternoon.
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