L.A. County Public Health Confirms 20 More Deaths And 2,542 New Cases of COVID-19 – Update

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UPDATE: The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has confirmed 20 new deaths and 2,542 new cases of the coronavirus. The news comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered the closing of bars on Sunday in seven counties including Los Angeles.

According to Public Health, there has been a surge in new cases and hospitalizations due to coronavirus. The timing of these increases comes after the reopening of bars.

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“While it’s disappointing to take a step back on our economic recovery journey, it’s critical that we protect the health of our residents and protect the capacity in our healthcare system,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health said in a statement. “I implore that our residents and businesses follow the Public Health directives that will keep us healthy, safe and on the pathway to recovery. Otherwise, we are quickly moving toward overwhelming our healthcare system and seeing even more devastating illness and death.”

PREVIOUS: The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said Saturday that 23 more people died from coronavirus overnight with 2,169 new cases reported. Across all areas of L.A. County, it brings the total to 95,371 cases and 3,285 deaths since the outbreak began.

The seven-day average of new daily cases passed 1,900, increasing from the 1,379 average seen two weeks ago. The number of hospitalized has grown to 1,698 from the 1,350-1,450 daily hospitalizations seen in the past few weeks.

The number of new coronavirus cases in the region that includes Los Angeles, Pasadena and Long Beach continues to climb two weeks after officials started to phase in Stage 3 guidelines of relaxing stay-at-home orders which including opening the doors for parks, gyms and other higher-risk businesses.

Director of Public Health Dr. Barbara Ferrer stressed today that wearing face masks and social distancing is key to keeping new cases of coronaviruses at bay.

“We’re safer in the community only if we follow the very specific directives issued by public health… If we can’t find it in us to follow these mandates, including wearing face coverings and distancing when around others, we jeopardize our ability to move forward on the recovery journey.”

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