LA County Reports 1,062 New Coronavirus Cases, Lowest Average Weekly Hospitalizations In 6 Months
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) -- Los Angeles County health officials on Saturday reported 1,062 new cases of coronavirus and 17 additional deaths related to coronavirus.
Hospitalizations have remained steady over the past few weeks, and this week averaged about 717 patients per day, which is the lowest number seen in six months.
Health experts continue to encourage residents to avoid gathering with non-household members, maintain physical distancing, keep wearing face coverings in public, and maintaining proper hand hygiene.
"To those who are dealing with the loss of a family member or friend, our hearts go out to you and we wish you peace during this very difficult and trying time," said L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer. "Our recovery journey depends on the decisions we each make every day about how to avoid transmitting the virus. We are witnessing firsthand in Washington D.C. how very easy it is for this virus to infect dozens of people in a very short time when individuals are not wearing face coverings, distancing and/or quarantining. Weekends are typically a time where we go out and enjoy time outdoors; please remember to take all precautions, avoid crowds and proceed with the knowledge that each of us is capable at any moment of becoming infected and infecting others."
Officials said that upon further investigation, 77 cases and one death reported earlier were not L.A. County residents.
Testing results are available for over 2,700,000 individuals with 9% of all people testing positive.
Mobile coronavirus testing kiosks are being installed throughout the county and walk-up testing options -- like ones offered by Community Organized Relief Effort (C.O.R.E) -- are also available.
A drive-up testing site is being operated on Saturdays by Kheir Clinic, which serves undocumented and uninsured people year-round.
"They're the ones who are bearing the brunt of this pandemic and they're out there working on a day-to-day basis, so we want to make sure we're there to be able to serve them," said Kheir Clinic Vice President Shawn Werbe.
Organizers say it's not clear whether President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump testing positive for coronavirus has impacted the number of people coming out to get tested for COVID-19.
To date, the countywide total in L.A. County is 273,638 positive cases of COVID-19 and 6,642 deaths.
The group C.O.R.E. will continue to partner with the Los Angeles Fire Department to offer free walk-up testing sites across the city of L.A.
For details on how to get tested for coronavirus in L.A. County, visit https://covid19.lacounty.gov/testing/.
