25 Businesses Cited For Violating Health Code Violations Since Aug. 30, Officials Say
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Monday reported 652 newly confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus and 16 new deaths, bringing countywide totals to 261,446 cases and 6,366 deaths.
Of the 16 newly reported deaths, eight people were over the age of 80 years old, four people were between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, two people were between the ages of 50 and 64 years old and two people were between the ages of 30 and 49 years old. Eleven had underlying health conditions.
The low number in deaths and cases Monday reflected a weekend reporting lag, according to health officials.
The health department also reported a total of 89 deaths and 14,977 positive cases have been reported among healthcare workers and first responders in Los Angeles County. While the numbers surged in the early months of the pandemic and following the July 4th holiday, cases and deaths have been declining since mid-July.
Health officials also announced that 46 citations have been issued to 25 businesses for violating local health orders since Aug. 30.
"In some cases, these establishments were also closed because there were significant health and safety concerns or flagrant violations of the Health Officer Orders, including operating indoors in violation of the State and County Health Officer Orders," the health department said in a statement.
The compliance team was continuing to visit businesses across the county on a daily basis, with inspectors reviewing local reopening protocols with business owners to ensure they are familiar with requirements for safe operation, health officials said.
Since launching its Safety Compliance Certificate Program two weeks ago, 663 businesses and 712 employees have completed online training and self-certified that they were fully implementing the required COVID-19 protocols to make their workplace as safe as possible for both employees and customers.
"Worker protections and safe workplaces are an essential part of slowing the spread of COIVD-19 and protecting the health of our communities, and I want to thank all the workplaces who have followed the requirements for opening that are laid out in the Health Officer Order, as well as the workplaces that have diligently reported outbreaks and taken the infection control steps to protect their workers," Dr. Barbara Ferrer, county public health director, said. "We are working with the Board of Supervisors to establish worker public health councils that help ensure employee safety, particularly among sectors experiencing high numbers of cases and/or outbreaks."
Workers of employers who want to anonymously report an alleged violation can call the Environmental Health Customer Call Center at 888-700-9995 weekdays between 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Complaints and reports of alleged violations can also be filed online.
With testing results available for more than 2,552,000 people, the county's overall positivity rate had fallen to 9%.
There were 749 coronavirus patients hospitalized Monday, 28% of whom were being treated in intensive care units.
