LISTING OF DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH PRESS RELEASES
News Release
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313 N. Figueroa Street, Room 806  |  Los Angeles, CA 90012  |  (213) 240-8144  |  media@ph.lacounty.gov

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For Immediate Release:

October 29, 2020

L.A. County Sees Highest Number of New Cases Since Late- August; Public Health Reports 19 New Deaths and 1,745 New Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has confirmed 19 new deaths and 1,745 new cases of COVID-19. This is the highest number of new cases reported since late-August not associated with backlog cases.

To date, Public Health identified 305,070 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 7,044 deaths. Upon further investigation, 44 cases and 15 deaths reported earlier were not L.A. County residents.

There are 750 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 31% of these people are in the ICU. The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations has remained stable for most of September and October.

Schools have reopened for specialized services for students with high-needs, waiver programs for students in grades TK-2, childcare, and modified youth sports programs. They are required to follow school re-opening protocols for infection control, distancing, and cohorting to minimize COVID-19 spread. Additionally, Public Health has a dedicated team of specialists providing technical assistance and disease management to all schools that are re-opened or re-opening, and every school that re-opens receives a site visit from Public Health.

Parents play a vital part in the shared responsibility to prevent COVID-19 spread in schools and communities. To date, nearly 30,000 COVID-19 cases have occurred in children under 18 years old in L.A. County. If a child’s school has reopened for one of the approved purposes, the decision to send a child back to school rests with each family. It is essential for families to follow the Department of Public Health’s safety guidance to reduce the risk of getting and spreading COVID-19. The necessary steps include:

There are also actions that parents can take to increase their child’s safety at school:

“To everyone who is facing the sorrow of losing a loved one to COVID-19, our hearts go out to all of you,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “The high numbers of daily cases are very concerning because, as we have seen in the past, increases in cases lead to increases in hospitalizations and deaths. These increases impede our ability to move forward with re-opening additional sectors and getting more children back to school. As individuals, we get to choose whether to party or help our economy recover; we get to choose whether to protect others from our respiratory droplets or infect others who may go on to need hospital care or even die. What we don't get to do, is sit on the sidelines. We have an awesome opportunity to slow the spread with every decision we make about how we interact with others."

Of the 19 new deaths reported today, five people that passed away were over the age of 80 years old, eight people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, two people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, and one person who died was between the ages of 30 and 49 years old. Thirteen people who died had underlying health conditions including five people over the age of 80, six people between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, one person between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, and one person between the ages of 30 and 49 years old. Three deaths were reported by the City of Long Beach.

Ninety-three percent of the people who died from COVID-19 had underlying health conditions. Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 6,635 people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health); 52% of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 23% among White residents, 14% among Asian residents, 10% among African American/Black residents, less than 1% among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander residents and 1% among residents identifying with other races.

Testing results are available for nearly 3,080,000 individuals with 9% of all people testing positive. 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.

Please see additional information below:

Laboratory Confirmed Total Cases 305070 *

Deaths 7044

Age Group (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)

Gender (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)

Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)

Hospitalization

Deaths Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)

CITY / COMMUNITY (Rate**)

These numbers are subject to change based on further investigation. 44 cases and 15 deaths previously reported were not in Public Health's jurisdiction. * Means that case numbers include cases associated with correctional facility outbreaks located in the city/community. **Rate is crude and is per 100,000. This represents the number of cases per 100,000 people and allows for the proportional comparison of cities of different sizes.

Always check with trusted sources for the latest accurate information about novel coronavirus:

The Department of Public Health is committed to promoting health equity and ensuring optimal health and well-being for all 10 million residents of Los Angeles County. Through a variety of programs, community partnerships and services, Public Health oversees environmental health, disease control, and community and family health. Nationally accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health comprises nearly 4,500 employees and has an annual budget of $1.2 billion. To learn more about Los Angeles County Public Health, please visit www.publichealth .lacounty.gov, and follow LA County Public Health on social media at twitter.com/lacounty.gov, and follow LA County Public Health on social media at twitter.com/lapublichealth, facebook.com/lapublichealth, instagram.com/lapublichealth and youtube.com/lapublichealth.

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