County officials provide updates, and answer questions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic for May 29th, 2020.

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has confirmed 50 new deaths and 1,824 new cases of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). Some of the new cases reported are from a backlog of test results. Thirty-three people who died were over the age of 65 years old; 13 people who died were between the ages of 41 and 65 years old, and four people who died were between the ages of 18 and 40 years old. Forty people had underlying health conditions including 30 people over the age of 65 years old, seven people between the ages of 41 to 65 years old, and three people between the ages of 18 and 40 years old.

To date, Public Health has identified 51,562 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of LA County, and a total of 2,290 deaths. Ninety-three percent of people who died had underlying health conditions. Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 2,112 people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health) 40% of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 29% among White residents, 17% among Asian residents, 12% among African American residents, 1% among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander residents and 1% among residents identifying with other races. Upon further investigation, 36 cases and one death reported earlier were not LA County residents. As of today, 6,430 people who tested positive for COVID-19 (13% of positive cases) have been hospitalized at some point during their illness. There are 1,462 people who are currently hospitalized, 27% of these people are in the ICU and 20% are on ventilators. Testing capacity continues to increase in LA County, with testing results available for over 564,000 individuals and 8% of people testing positive.

Public Health continues to track health outcomes by race, ethnicity and income level data of people who have been tested, hospitalized and died from COVID-19. African Americans, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders, and people living in communities with high levels of poverty continue to have the highest rate of death per 100,000 people for COVID-19 when compared to other groups. Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders have a death rate of 108 per 100,000, African Americans have a death of 28 per 100,000, Latinos/Latinxs have a death of 25 per 100,000, Asians have a death rate of 18 per 100,000, and Whites have a death rate of 14 per 100,000. People who live in areas with high rates of poverty have almost four times the rate of deaths for COVID-19 with 46 per 100,000 people, compared with communities with very low poverty levels who had a death rate of 12 per 100,000. Public Health continues collaboration with community, healthcare, and philanthropic partners to improve testing, connection to care and services, and in-language and culturally appropriate communications to the communities experiencing these inequitable outcomes.

“So many people in our community are experiencing loss and sorrow during this pandemic. We think of you every day, and we are deeply sorry for your loss,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “As we enter the weekend, and are perhaps out of our homes and visiting businesses and public spaces, please remember that practicing physical distancing and wearing a cloth face covering when you are around other people are the tools we have to prevent further spread of the virus. For businesses, the implementation of directives in the protocols for reopening are the most effective strategy for protecting employees and customers. These actions are essential for slowing the spread and preventing many people from becoming seriously ill and requiring hospitalization. They are essential for saving lives.”

Now that the variance has been granted by the State, Public Health will be amending the current Health Officer Order, Safer at Work and in the Community, to allow for restaurants and hair salons to reopen only with the proper distancing and infection control protocols in place. All businesses must adhere to distancing and infection control protocols that provide safety for employees, customers and the County’s most vulnerable residents before reopening. These protocols were developed to guide reopening and are available online. Inspectors will continue to monitor for compliance and ensure that all adhere to the Health Officer Order. Higher-risk businesses remain closed.

As the recovery journey continues, more people being around one another may result in more transmission of COVID-19, more cases, and more hospitalizations and deaths. The actions everyone takes today will impact where numbers are in two or three weeks. Everyone must continue to follow distancing and infection control protocols and wear a clean cloth face covering that securely covers both your nose and mouth when in contact with other people not in your household. Public Health will assess the activities allowed by the Order on an ongoing basis. LA County is in stage two of the five-stage Roadmap to Recovery and until the final stage five is reached, Health Officer Orders and directives will continue to ensure that we slow spread of COVID-19 to prevent an overwhelming surge of COVID-19 cases at healthcare facilities.

The Reopening Protocols, COVID-19 Surveillance Interactive Dashboard, Roadmap to Recovery, Recovery Dashboard, and additional things you can do to protect yourself, your family and your community are on the Public Health website, www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

The best protection against COVID-19 continues to be to wash your hands frequently, avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, self-isolate if you are sick, practice physical distancing, and wear a clean face covering when in contact with others from outside your household. People who have underlying health conditions remain at much greater risk for serious illness from COVID-19, so it will continue to be very important for the County’s vulnerable residents to stay at home as much as possible, to have groceries and medicine delivered, and to call their providers immediately if they have even mild symptoms.