Another New High In LA County COVID Hospitalizations; Nearly Half Of Fatalities Among Latino Communities
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) - Los Angeles County is reporting another 3,160 cases of COVID-19, bringing the county's total throughout the pandemic to 159,045.
County health director Barbara Ferrer also announced another nine deaths have been reported due to the coronavirus. Monday also marked the fourth day in the last week for a new high in the number of COVID patients in county hospitals.
The latest fatalities bring the county's overall total to 4,084 deaths.
Roughly 92% of people who died had underlying health conditions, Ferrer said, 47% of which occurred among Latino residents.
As of Monday, there were 2,232 confirmed COVID-19 patients hospitalized countywide, with 26% being treated in intensive care units and 18% on ventilators.
Ferrer also signaled the county would be adhering to Gov. Gavin Newsom's executive order to delay reopening schools for in-person instruction.
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Under a new health officer order, schools in Los Angeles County and 31 other counties on the state's monitoring list cannot resume in-person learning next month.
"The Governor has made it clear that until we reduce the rate of transmission of COVID-19 in LA County, it is too dangerous for our schools to re-open for in-person classroom instruction," she said. "Let's get back to working together to slow the spread and continue our recovery journey."
In Monday's briefing, Ferrer also gave a detailed presentation about contact-tracing efforts, which can help track where patients became infected and get people who may have been exposed to quarantine themselves to stop future spread.
The county is allocating $10 million to ensure residents get connected with services and support if they have to isolate or quarantine, including offering $20 gift cards as an incentive for people who test positive for the virus to participate in the contact-tracing interview process.
