LA County sets new daily record for coronavirus cases

LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles County is reporting 4,592 new cases of the coronavirus, the highest single-day total of the pandemic. The county is also reporting another 59 deaths from the virus.

Health officials say this is the largest increase in new cases, surpassing the count from July 14. Over the last 48 hours there have been 7,350 new cases.

Of the 59 new deaths, 34 people who died were over the age of 65 years old and 20 people who died were between the ages of 41 and 65 years old.
Meanwhile, 48 people had underlying health conditions including 32 people over the age of 65 years old and 16 people between the ages of 41 to 65 years old.

To date, Public Health has reported a total of 147,468 positive cases and a total of 3,988 deaths.

On Thursday, health officer said that workplaces are a major source of transmission, and employers have a duty to adhere to health restrictions to protect employees.

County health officer Dr. Muntu Davis said inspectors over the past few months have been responding to 2,000 to 3,000 complaints a week about potential health protocol violations at workplaces.

Dozens of workplace outbreaks are under investigation, the largest of which continues to be at the Los Angeles Apparel garment-manufacturing facilities in South Los Angeles, Davis said. Health officials reported last week that 300 employees at the plant had tested positive for the coronavirus, and four people have died.

Davis said Thursday the number of confirmed cases at the facility has risen to 375 among the company's 2,290 employees.

"Without aggressive action on the part of every person, we will not get back to slowing the spread,'' public health director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement.

She and county Health Officer Dr. Muntu Davis both said businesses also need to do more to protect workers.

The average daily number of confirmed cases in the county has doubled over the past two months, going from 1,452 in early June to 2,859 now, Ferrer
said Wednesday.

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