LA County Reports 15 New Cases Of COVID-Linked Syndrome In Children
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Friday reported 3,497 newly confirmed cases and 137 deaths, bringing countywide totals to 1,161,773 cases and 18,789 deaths.
Of the new deaths reported, 40 people who died were over the age of 80, 42 people were between the ages of 65 and 79, 28 people were between the ages of 50 and 64 and seven people were between the ages of 30 and 49. There were also five deaths reported by the city of Pasadena and 15 reported by the city of Long Beach.
Health officials also reported 15 additional cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C, bringing the total number of cases in L.A. County to 90 children. In the last two weeks, the county has experienced an increase of more than 35% in MIS-C diagnoses.
"The significant increase in MIS-C we are seeing in LA County is a consequence of our recent surge and demonstrates the terrible ripple effect of a large increase in cases," Dr. Barbara Ferrer, county public health director, said. "We ask that everyone continue to follow the rules and safety measures that slow COVID-19 spread so that our recovery journey continues."
All of the children diagnosed required hospitalization, with 41% treated in the intensive care unit. One child has died from the syndrome.
Of those diagnosed with MIS-C, 30% were under the age of 5, 40% were between the ages of 5 and 11 and 30% were between the ages of 12 and 20. Latinx children account for 72% of the reported cases.
Public Health also announced it had provided more than 1,345,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine across the county, 298,875 of which were second doses. But with an allocation for next week of 219,700 doses, officials said the priority would remain on second doses for at least the next week.
Those interested in making an appointment can do so on the county's website.
There were 3,604 COVID-19 patients hospitalized Friday, 30% of whom were being treated in intensive care units.
With testing results available for more than 5,662,000 people, the county's overall positivity rate was holding steady at 19%, though the daily test positivity rate was 6.1% — a slight decrease from Thursday.
