LA County Reports 61 New COVID-19 Deaths, Highlights Importance Of Worker Protections Ahead Of Labor Day
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Thursday reported 1,193 new cases of the novel coronavirus and 61 new deaths, bringing countywide totals to 244,999 cases and 5,932 deaths.
Of the new deaths reported Thursday, 23 were people over the age of 80, 17 were between the ages of 65 and 79, eight were between the ages of 50 and 64, two were between the ages of 30 and 49 and one was between the ages of 18 and 29. Thirty-six of those who died had underlying health conditions.
As of Thursday, there were 1,062 confirmed coronavirus patients hospitalized, with 30% being treated in intensive care units.
The health department also highlighted the importance of reporting workplace outbreaks in slowing the spread of COVID-19 and protecting the health of wider communities.
"I want to thank all the workplaces who are following the County protocols for reopening that are in the Health Officer Order, as well as the workplaces that have diligently reported outbreaks and taken the necessary infection control steps to protect their workers," Dr. Barbara Ferrer, county public health director, said. "As Labor Day approaches, let's all remember why we celebrate this holiday — and to take extra measures to protect the health and safety of all of our workers so we won't see a repeat of the spike we saw in July after Independence Day."
According to the health department, the county experienced sharp increases in cases, hospitalizations and deaths in July due to the reopening of many sectors and holiday-related activities — which subsequently led to an increase in workplace outbreaks, which spiked the week of July 13.
"People can pass this infection two days before having symptoms if they have symptoms at all," the department said. "People that became infected with COVID-19 during this time likely and unknowingly exposed their coworkers when they went to work, which contributed to the spike in workplace outbreaks."
The department encouraged workers and employers to report COVID-19 outbreaks at worksites as well as violations of current health orders to the Environmental Health Customer Call Center at 888-700-9995 or by filling out a form online.
With testing results available for more than 2,332,000 people, the county's overall positivity rate was holding steady at 10%.
