LA County Reports 64 New COVID-19 Deaths, 1,003 Newly Confirmed Cases
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Tuesday reported 1,003 newly confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus and 64 additional deaths, bringing countywide totals to 224,031 reported positive cases and 5,335 deaths.
Health officials said the lower number of new cases reported was due to missing reports from one of the county's larger labs and that it was still anticipating receiving a backlog of cases from the state, though other indicators such as hospitalizations and deaths have not been impacted by delays in reporting.
The department also reported that daily hospitalizations have decreased by 37% in the past month — decreasing to 1,388 in mid-August from 2,219 in mid-July. As of Tuesday, there were 1,352 confirmed coronavirus patients hospitalized with 32% being treated in intensive care units.
Of the 64 new deaths, 21 people were over the age of 80, 24 were between the ages of 65 and 79, 13 people were between the ages of 50 and 64 and six were between the ages of 30-49. Of the 5,335 total deaths, 50% were Latinx, 24% were white, 15% were Asian, 10% were Black, less than 1% were Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander and 1% were among residents who identified with another race.
With testing results available for more than 2.1 million people, the county's overall positivity rate was holding steady at 10%.
"As we work together to prevent more illness and death from COVID-19, it is important to note that while testing can help identify people who are infected, testing alone cannot prevent all transmission," Dr. Barbara Ferrer, county public health director, said. "Individuals who test positive are capable of infecting others 48 hours before they have any symptoms or a positive test result."
Those who have tested positive were still being urged to call 1-833-540-0473 to connect with a public health specialist for information about services and support.
