Los Angeles County reports a total of 40,857 coronavirus cases with 1,970 deaths

LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles County on Wednesday reported 1,324 new coronavirus cases and 57 additional deaths, bringing the county's totals to 40,857 cases and 1,970 deaths.

Of the newly reported deaths, 30 were individuals over the age of 65, 24 of which had underlying health conditions. Twelve individuals were between the ages of 41 and 65, six of which had underlying health conditions. Two people with underlying health conditions who died were between the ages of 18 and 40. The data on the remaining deaths was not immediately available.

The Los Angeles County Public Health Department lists the race and ethnicity data associated with COVID-19 deaths on its website.

Approximately 92% of all county residents who died from the virus had underlying health conditions. County Public Health Director, Dr. Barbara Ferrer, said this emphasizes the county's need to protect those with underlying health conditions and urges those residents to stay at home as much as possible.

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She said this includes, but is not limited to, individuals with asthma, those who have had cancer, anyone with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and anyone who is immune-compromised.

"If you're part of one of these groups, you need to take every precaution imaginable to protect yourself from COVID-19," said Ferrer.

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According to Public Health, 5,966 individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 at some point required hospitalization during their battle with the illness. There are 1,531 individuals currently hospitalized in the county with the virus, Ferrer said.

Testing capacity continues to increase in LA County, with testing results available for over 379,000 individuals and 9% of those people testing positive.

While LA County officials have not released data on the number of COVID-19 patients that have recovered from the virus within the county, John's Hopkins University reports that more than 289,000 patients have recovered nationwide.

Dr. Christina Ghaly, the director of the county's Health Services Department, said their modeling shows that if the COVID-19 spread is maintained at current levels, 9% of the county, or approximately 900,000 people, will have had the virus by December. If things get worse, they anticipate 44%, or roughly 4.4 million LA County residents, will be infected by that same date. Their worst-case scenario data, which would require a rate of transmission as high as pre-stay-at-home order levels, would result in 96% or roughly 9.6 million county residents, becoming infected.

Ferrer also released the latest results of the second round of serology testing in the county. The study found that 2.1% of the 1,014 adults tested had coronavirus antibodies in their systems, indicating they were once exposed to the virus and have since developed antibodies. That's down from roughly 4.1% in the first round of serology testing.

“We’re still far away from herd immunity," said lead investigator Neeraj Sood.

Researchers say there are multiple explanations that could contribute to the drop in percentage of positive antibody tests, noting there were significant differences in the way the two rounds of testing were conducted.

On Tuesday, county Supervisor Kathryn Barger expressed that they are aiming for a "safe reopening" of the county as early as July 4, but other county leaders stressed that the date was just a goal, saying the numbers and data would need to support it.

On Monday, Ferrer announced that four children in the county who have been diagnosed with a rare inflammatory condition also tested positive for COVID-19, and several other suspected cases have also been identified.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is calling the condition multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C. Most affected children have had current or recent coronavirus infections.

County health officials say they are working with hospitals to identify any additional cases.

Last week, the county announced a new "Safer-at-Home" health officer order , that replaced the initial order, which expired on Friday.

"While the Safer at Home orders will remain in place over the next few months, restrictions will be gradually relaxed under our 5-stage Roadmap to Recovery, while making sure we are keeping our communities as safe as possible during this pandemic," said Ferrer.

While the new order has no definitive end date, it does allow a few additional businesses and outdoor recreational areas to reopen with restrictions. The county also reopened its beaches for active-use, but residents are required to wear masks unless they are in the water.

Under the new order, all county residents are required to wear face coverings when they are around other people, including any time they enter an essential business or interact with employees for curbside pickup. Face coverings are also required to be worn at all times on county-operated hiking trails.

Dr. Barbara Ferrer discusses face-covering requirements for LA County residents

Los Angeles Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer stopped by Good Day LA Friday to answer viewer questions about the coronavirus and current health orders in place across the county.

Public Health said that based on new guidance from the CDC, they are now requiring anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19 to self-isolate for 10 days and 72 hours after fever and symptoms subside.

"New evidence suggests it may take longer for the virus to shed, which means that an infected person may be able to infect other people for a longer period of time than was initially thought," Public Health wrote in a news release. "This means you must stay home until your fever has resolved without the use of fever-reducing medications and there is improvement in your respiratory symptoms (e.g., cough, shortness of breath) for at least three days (72 hours) after recovery, AND at least 10 days have passed since your symptoms first appeared or you were tested."

Why social distancing can save lives amid COVID-19 pandemic

Public Health continues to stress to the public that while a majority of those who have died from COVID-19 in the county had underlying health conditions, not everyone does. Residents are urged to continue to take the necessary precautions in order to protect themselves from the virus.

Health officials say that social distancing remains our best defense against the virus, and all residents are instructed to abide by current measures in place across the state. Social distancing is not only about preventing the illness itself, but rather, slowing the rate at which people get sick.

On April 3, the CDC announced that it would be recommending people wear cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain, such as grocery stores and pharmacies, especially in areas of significant community-based transmission.

The use of face coverings is believed to help slow the spread of the virus and help people who may have the virus, without knowing it, from transmitting it to others.

The face coverings can be made at home from common materials at low cost, and the CDC has instructions on how to make them listed on its website.

This comes as more evidence is emerging that coronavirus infections are being spread by people who have no clear symptoms. In early April, the CDC changed how it was defining risk of infection for Americans, saying anyone may be a considered a carrier, whether they have symptoms or not.

In accordance with new guidelines from the CDC, Public Health said that anyone who begins to experience symptoms must contact those they were in contact with up to 48 hours prior to having symptoms in order for them to self-isolate.

According to the CDC, symptoms of the virus include fever, coughing, shortness of breath, chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat and a new loss of taste or smell. Anyone who experiences these symptoms should call their healthcare provider or local public health department first before seeking medical care so that appropriate precautions can be taken.

Click here for a list of locations of confirmed coronavirus cases in Los Angeles County.

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