5 More Coronavirus Deaths Reported In LA County; Cases Near 1,500

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Five more coronavirus-related deaths were reported in Los Angeles County Friday, raising the total to 26.

Dr. Barbara Ferrer, head of the county Department of Public Health, said 257 more cases have been confirmed in the county, raising the total to 1,465.

Of the five deaths reported by Los Angeles County on Friday, all were over the age of 60 -- four men and one woman, Ferrer said.

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That total does not include 16 new cases reported Friday morning by the city of Long Beach, which maintains its own health department.

Long Beach reported a total of 70 cases as of Friday morning, raising the overall cases in Los Angeles County to 1,481.

On Thursday, L.A. county reported nine deaths including eight people over age 60 and one person in their 40s with underlying health conditions.

Ferrer noted that of the people who have tested positive for the virus in L.A. County, 1.8% have died noting that the mortality rate is higher than the rest of the country.

Ferrer also identified three "institutional settings'' -- such as nursing homes or long-term care facilities -- where outbreaks, defined as three or more cases among patients or staff, have occurred.

"Staff, residents and family in these facilities have been notified that there is an outbreak," Ferrer said.

The three locations with outbreaks are:
-- The Kensington Redondo Beach
-- Belmont Village in Hollywood
-- Alameda Care Center in Burbank

She stressed "there have been no deficiencies identified at these facilities,'' saying COVID-19 "knows no boundaries'' and can be "imported and exported wherever there are people.''

No deaths have been reported at any of the three facilities, but officials did not immediately disclose the condition of the patients.

(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)