40 new COVID-19 deaths reported in Los Angeles County

LOS ANGELES - COVID-19 deaths continue to mount in Los Angeles County, with 40 new deaths reported Saturday, along with nearly 1,100 new cases.

Of the 40 deaths, 33 were people over the age of 65, nine were between the ages of 41 and 65, and one was between 18 and 40, county health officials said.

Also, 34 of the 40 had underlying health conditions, including 25 who were over age 65.

To date, County Public Health has identified 37,303 positive cases and 1,793 deaths, with 92% of the people who died having underlying health conditions.

As of today, 5,784 people or 16% of positive cases have been hospitalized, officials said.

With more businesses opening and the weather improving, head of the public health department, Barbara Ferrer, warned residents of gathering with friends and family, while acknowledging it will occur.

"Seeing friends, we're not recommending that at this point in time,'' Ferrer said. "We are recommending that you continue to do your distancing in the ways that we've recommended before.''

"We do appreciate that there are circumstances where you may be around some other people,'' she said, adding that in those circumstances, "We do recommend you're at least keeping that six-foot distance and that you're
using a cloth face covering to try to protect other people, and they should do
the same to protect you.''

Despite the ever-increasing numbers, Ferrer again stressed that the rate of the virus' spread has been slowed by the county's Safer At Home orders mandating face masks, social distancing and asking people to remain home as much as possible.

She echoed numbers from Thursday, showing that on average, people infected with the virus are in turn infecting one other person. That's down from an initial rate of three other people per patient. "And that's only because of all of the work that you've done,'' Ferrer said. "So I ask you to continue to practice physical distancing, continue to wear your cloth face coverings when you're among other people because these actions work. This is your way of keeping other people safe.''

Dr. Christina Ghaly, the county's health services director, said Thursday that if social distancing and other restrictions had not been imposed, the coronavirus outbreak would be far worse.