LA County Reports Over 2K COVID-19 Cases For Second Straight Day
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Friday reported 2,108 newly confirmed coronavirus cases and 23 new deaths, bringing countywide totals to 317,656 cases and 7,157 deaths.
Friday was the third consecutive day of new cases over 1,800, the second over 2,000 and the first time the number of new cases reached over 2,100 since mid-August. Since Wednesday, there have been a total of 6,016 new cases reported.
Of the 23 new deaths reported, 11 people were over the age of 80, six people were between the ages of 65 and 79 and six people were between the ages of 50 and 64. Twenty-one people had underlying health conditions.
In an effort to help contain further spread of the virus, health officials urged participation with case investigation and contact tracing efforts. To date, the health department said more than 157,000 people who were or are positive for COVID-19 have completed the investigation interview process and more than 71,000 of their close contacts completed interviews.
The department also emphasized the importance of following public health safety protocols as the holiday season approaches. The county currently allows small outdoor gatherings with three or fewer households that last no longer than two hours. Indoor gatherings of any size are not permitted.
"We have experienced increasing cases in L.A. County before and have demonstrated that we can get back to slowing the spread of COVID-19 and saving lives when we are united in our efforts to minimize infections," Dr. Barbara Ferrer, county public health director, said. "With so many people newly infected each day, there are a lot more opportunities for virus transmission if we continue to intermingle with lots of people outside our households. We are strongly recommending that everyone limit their interactions with people outside their household as much as possible as we work together to lower the number of new cases."
With testing results available for nearly 3,220,000 people, the county's overall positivity rate was holding steady at 9%. As of Friday, there were 821 people hospitalized with COVID-19, 29% of whom were being treated in intensive care units.
