LA County Reports Another 62 Coronavirus Deaths Friday, Over 1,000 Cases
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – There were 62 more deaths from coronavirus in Los Angeles County Friday, and more than 1,000 new cases, as officials reported that patients now need to self-isolate for longer than originally thought.
The death toll from coronavirus in L.A. County hit 1,172 Friday. There were 1,065 new cases, bringing the total number of people who have tested positive for the disease to at least 24,215.
L.A. County Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer also reported a new directive from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which states that people diagnosed with coronavirus can now spread the disease for longer than originally thought.
People who are positive should self-isolate for 10 days, plus another 72 hours after fever and symptoms subside. The initial guidance was that people must only isolate for only seven days, plus another 72 hours after symptoms subside.
"The reason for the change is because there's new evidence that suggests that the virus may shed for a longer period of time," Ferrer said. "Which means that a person may be able to infect other people for a longer period of time."
Ferrer reported that 106 pregnant woman in L.A. County have so far tested positive for coronavirus. Of those, 27 completed their pregnancies. 26 infants were successfully born, but one died during childbirth.
Of the 22 infants who were tested at birth, all were negative for the disease.
"We don't have signs that pregnant women are transmitting the infection to their newborns at this time in L.A. County," Ferrer said.
1,959 people are currently hospitalized with coronavirus in the county, with 27 percent in ICU beds and 17 percent on ventilators.
"When we started the month of April, we started with about 900 people in the hospital, and we're ending the month with almost 2,000 people hospitalized," Ferrer noted.
So far, 564 residents in institutional settings have died of COVID-19, the vast majority of whom lived in nursing homes. That accounts for 48 percent of all coronavirus deaths countywide.
Institutional settings include nursing homes, assisted living facilities, jails, prisons, homeless shelters, treatment centers and supportive living facilities.
Meanwhile, Ferrer confirmed that now five inmates have died of coronavirus at Terminal Island, a federal low-security prison in San Pedro which has seen a major outbreak. More than 600 inmates at Terminal Island have tested positive, compromising 57 percent of the total inmate population there.
Over 152,000 people have been tested for COVID-19 in L.A. County, with 14 percent reporting positive results.
