Los Angeles County Officials provided updated information surrounding the coronavirus outbreak. As the numbers project a level of stability, the County remains vigilant and stressed the importance of the unity needed across LA to keep this virus at bay. Director of Los Angeles Public Health Dr. Barbara Ferrer provided the latest numbers that track the movement of COVID-19 throughout the county, the statistics emphasize the significant effort that is needed from every Angeleno to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Los Angeles Board of Supervisor Hilda Solis explained the major factor of stopping the spread of COVID-19 is working together. She went on and explained that all spectrums of the community have been affected, but there has been traumatic hardship among areas that were already underserved. Solis stated, “Decades of distress, coupled with the significant fear residents have about losing their job, their livelihood, and more have made it challenging to reach certain ares during the pandemic.
Solis announced a 30-million dollar investment that will work to face the issues head on, Supervisor Solis explained that an additional one million dollars will go towards support “hyperlocal and ethnic media outlets,” this is to ensure COVID-19 related information reaches every Angeleno. Another 10-million dollars will go to small businesses that have been severely impacted by coronavirus. The County allocated at least 14.9 million dollars towards technological resources addressing the concern of the digital divide.
Recent statistics were disclosed by Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Los Angeles Public Health Director. The reports shown on Wednesday reflect 31 additional deaths, 17 of these individuals were over the age of 80, 13 of them had underlining health conditions. Four people who died were between the ages of 65-79, three victims had preexisting health concerns. Nine individuals were between the ages of 50-64, and seven of them had underlining health problems. This brings the total COVID-19 related deaths in L.A. County to 6,303.
There were 1,148 new COVID-19 reports. In summary, there is a total amount of 256,148 coronavirus cases in the Los Angeles region. 11,271 incidents were reported in the city of Long Beach and 2,479 cases in the city of Pasadena.
The relationship between COVID-19 infection and ethnicity were provided. The racial background collected from 5,928 fatal cases showed 10% were African American, 15% were Asian, slightly less than 1% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 51% were LatinX, 23% were White, and 1% identified as a different race or ethnicity. 92% of those who died due to COVID-19 had preexisting health concerns.
The total daily average over a 7-day span, is reflecting 3.5% of tests come back positive. Over two million people have been tested, this gave the county a “fuller picture” of the direction COVID-19 is headed. Los Angeles Public has a target of running 15,000 diagnostic tests each day The average hospitalization has steadily decrease as well. Through multiple studies, numbers exposed that communities in compacted areas are at a higher risk to having a fatal outcome due to COVID-19.
There is a need for all residents to come together. There is no room for lack of support when multiple livelihoods are looking at the bottom of their barrel. All public officials took a united front and supported the message of compassion to spread across Los Angeles.
