Los Angeles County Surpasses 800,000 Total Coronavirus Cases
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) -- Los Angeles County health officials on Saturday reported 138 more coronavirus deaths and 15,701 additional cases.
There was a backlog associated with the Spectrum outage and Christmas holiday reporting delays that contributed to the higher than usual deaths, officials said.
To date, there have been 10,682 deaths and 806,210 coronavirus cases among the more than 4.76 million individuals who have been tested as of Saturday.
The number of coronavirus patients in county hospitals rose to 7,627, and among them, and 21% of them are in intensive care.
"Our deepest condolences go out to the many families mourning a loved one who passed away from COVID-19 and you remain in our thoughts as we begin this new year,'' Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said on Saturday. "The strategy for stopping the surge is fairly straightforward. When people stay away from other people, the virus cannot spread as it is doing now. The more we stay home and the more we avoid in-person activities with other people we don't live with, the more we reduce the spread of the virus.
As coronavirus conditions continue to worsen throughout the region, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is sending experts to help with the oxygen delivery systems at six of the county's hospitals and oversee any necessary upgrades.
The resources listed below can provide information about the pandemic and best practices for staying safe:
- L.A. County residents can call 2-1-1
- Los Angeles County Department of Public Health: http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/
- California Department of Public Health: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/Immunization/ncov2019.aspx
- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019- ncov/index.html Spanish https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index-sp.html
- World Health Organization (WHO): https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus
For information about how to get a free coronavirus test in L.A. County, visit https://corona-virus.la/covid-19-testing.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)
