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:

June 24, 2020

Los Angeles County Announces 34 New Deaths Related to 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) - 1,260 New Cases of Confirmed COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has confirmed 34 new deaths and 1,260 new cases of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). Twenty-eight people who died were over the age of 65 years old, four people who died were between the ages of 41 and 65 years old, and one person who died was between the ages of 18 and 40 years old. Ten people had underlying health conditions including nine people over the age of 65 years old and one person between the ages of 41 to 65 years old. One death was reported by the City of Long Beach.

To date, Public Health has identified 89,490 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of LA County, and a total of 3,205 deaths. Ninety-three percent of people who died had underlying health conditions. Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 2,982 people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health); 42% of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 28% among White residents, 17% among Asian residents, 11% among African American/Black residents, less than 1% among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander residents and 1% among residents identifying with other races. Upon further investigation, 32 cases reported earlier were not LA County residents. There are 1,556 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 990,000 individuals and 8% of people testing positive.

“To everyone who is facing the sorrow of losing a loved one to COVID-19, we are thinking of you every day and we are so sorry for your loss,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “We continue to work with partners and skilled nursing facilities to make sure they are as safe as possible for both the people who live there and the people who work there. As community spread is increasing in our communities, adherence to infection control practices remains critically important in these facilities. Efforts include ensuring that staff are provided with appropriate personal protective equipment and everyone who can is using a face covering when around others. To date, Public Health has distributed over 4.8 million masks and almost 1 million N-95 masks to nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.”

All 315 skilled nursing facilities in LA County, not including the cities of Long Beach and Pasadena, have completed testing of all residents and staff with support from Public Health, the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services and the City of Los Angeles. This includes facilities that have had outbreaks and facilities that have not yet had outbreaks. Of the over 35,000 tests results currently available from among both residents and staff, 5% tested positive for COVID-19 and 82% of the people testing positive were asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic. Public Health will continue to assist skilled nursing facilities meet the State’s requirements for routine and surveillance testing, respond to outbreaks and provide guidance on the use of personal protective equipment and communications with employees, residents, family members, and other key partners.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the risk of widespread transmission, 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. It’s important if someone thinks they could be positive for COVID-19 and are awaiting testing results, to stay at home and act as if they are positive. This means self-isolating for 10 days and 72 hours after symptoms and fever subside, or until they receive a negative result. If a person tests positive for COVID-19, they should plan on receiving a call from a contact tracer to discuss how to protect themselves and others, to find out where they may have been, and who they were in close contact with while infectious. 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.

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 Cases -- 89490 Total Cases*

Deaths 3205

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. Thirty-two cases 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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