LISTING OF DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH PRESS RELEASES
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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:

May 23, 2020

Los Angeles County Announces 41 New Deaths Related to 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) - 1,032 New Cases of Confirmed COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has confirmed 41 new deaths and 1,032 new cases of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). Thirty-one people who died were over the age of 65 years old and eight people who died were between the ages of 41 to 65 years old. Twenty-eight people had underlying health conditions including 23 people over the age of 65 years old and five people between the ages of 41 to 65 years old. Two deaths were reported by the City of Long Beach.

To date, Public Health has identified 44,055 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of LA County, and a total of 2,090 deaths. Ninety-three percent of people who died had underlying health conditions. Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 1,929 people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health) 39% 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, 29 cases reported earlier were not LA County residents. As of today, 6,159 people who tested positive for COVID-19 (14% of positive cases) have been hospitalized at some point during their illness. There are 1,491 people who are currently hospitalized, 26% of these people are in the ICU and 18% are on ventilators. Testing capacity continues to increase in LA County, with testing results available for over 436,000 individuals and nearly 9% of people testing positive.

“Our prayers and thoughts are with those families and friends mourning the loss of their loved ones,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “We are acutely aware of the need to continue to take steps that reduce the spread of COVID-19 during our recovery journey. Thanks to everyone’s efforts, our data points to steady declines in hospitalizations, deaths, and the percent of people testing positive. For example, the percent of people tested who are positive in LA County is now at an all time low of 8.5%; in comparison, New York City’s positivity rate is currently 28%. The increase we see in our number of cases is because we have increased the number of people we are testing, and this is a good thing. We are testing more people per capita in LA County than the state of California, the state of Washington, the state of Georgia, the United States, and Seattle King-County. Our increased testing capacity allows for quicker identification, treatment, and isolation of people who are positive for COVID-19 and their close contacts; this helps reduce the spread of the virus.”

A new Health Officer Order issued yesterday replaced the previous Health Officer Order and allows for the reopening of beach bike paths and parking lots, indoor mall curbside service, and select vehicle parades. Retailers remain closed to public entry along with beach piers, and public and private gatherings of any number of people outside of a single household unit are still not permitted. The Health Officer Order also continues to require specific higher-risk businesses to remain closed and prohibit dining in at restaurants. Restaurants are still allowed to serve food to customer via delivery, take-out or drive-thru. Everyone must continue to follow distancing and infection control protocols, stay at least six feet apart 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.

Because there is a 14-day incubation period for COVID-19, the actions everyone takes today will impact where numbers are in two or three weeks. 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, and to 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.

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 Health Officer Order, 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 Cases -- 44055 Total Cases*

Deaths 2090

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. Twenty-nine previously reported cases 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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