138 New Cases of Confirmed COVID-19 in Los Angeles County, Three Additional Deaths

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has confirmed three new deaths and 138 new cases of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). All three individuals that died were over the age of 65 and had underlying health conditions.  One resided in Gardena, one in Wilmington and the other case is still under investigation. Additional information regarding some of the new cases is pending further investigation. Over the last 48 hours there have been 266 new cases.

To date, Public Health has identified 799 cases across all areas of LA County, including 13 deaths.  Upon completion of investigations, two cases reported earlier were not LA County residents and one death has been reclassified as a suspect case and is pending evaluation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As of today, 160 positive cases (20% of positive cases) have been hospitalized.

Public Health is investigating all new cases and will notify close contacts who are household members, intimate partners and healthcare professionals to assess and monitor them for signs and symptoms of illness. All confirmed cases are isolated and close contacts are quarantined.  It is critically important that everyone adheres to all the social distancing measures and practice good public health hygiene, including washing hands as frequently as possible.

“Our hearts go out to each and every family affected by the unfortunate deaths and serious illness associated with COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Los Angeles County Public Health Director. “Please help us reduce the number of people with serious illness by doing your part. Social distancing is hard – so take advantage of some of the activities offered by our County departments like virtual workouts, e-books and virtual story hours for kids through the Library, virtual museum tours by Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and services from the Department of Mental Health for those who may being feeling stressed, depressed or anxious during this difficult time.”

Today, new Health Officer Orders are being issued to ensure that individuals who test positive for COVID-19, and those who are told by a clinician they are presumed to be positive for COVID-19 are required to self-isolate for a period of 7 days and 3 days of being symptom free.  Additionally, those who have been in close contact with someone who is positive or presumed positive must quarantine themselves for 14 days from their last exposure to that person.

Public Health has issued the following guidance during this time of increased spread:

• If you are mildly sick, stay home for at least seven days or until 72 hours after being fever free, whichever is longer. Call your doctor if you are concerned and/or your symptoms worsen. Individuals who are elderly, have underlying health conditions or pregnant should consider contacting their providers earlier when they are sick.

Public Health reminds LA County residents to do their part and adhere to the Order by always practicing social distancing.

Additional things you can do to protect yourself, your family and your community are on the Public Health website.

Please see the locations were cases have occurred:

  *These numbers are subject to change based on further investigation; two previously reported cases were not in Public Health’s jurisdiction.

 **One death is reclassified as suspect pending CDC evaluation.

 ***Locations that were less <25000 have been added to the nearest city or community.

Always check with trusted sources for the latest accurate information about novel coronavirus:

• Los Angeles County Department of Public Health: http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/
• California Department of Public Health: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/Immunization/nCOV2019.aspx

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

         Spanish https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-%20ncov/index-sp.html

• World Health Organization https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus
• LA County residents can also call 2-1-1