LA Sees Deadliest Day Of Pandemic As Health Care Workers Fall Ill

LOS ANGELES, CA — Los Angeles County lost 29 people to the new coronavirus over the last 24 hours, LA's deadliest day yet. But in the daily tally of COVID-19 cases, there are glimmers of hope.

The death rate is climbing, but the rate of new cases is slowing. It's the clearest signal so-far that the statewide shutdown is working. The Los Angeles County Public Health Department Wednesday confirmed 620 new cases over the last 24 hours. The day before, there were 550 new cases. Health officials expect to see as many as 1,000 new daily cases by next week and a peak in the outbreak some time in May. However, strict social distancing has bought the Golden State time. The rates of new cases, hospitalizations and deaths, fall short of the most dire predictions and they're nowhere near the number of infections that overwhelmed hospitals in New York and New Jersey.

Los Angeles County has confirmed 198 coronavirus fatalities and 7,530 illnesses. According to Public Health Department Director Barbara Ferrer, the county's coronavirus mortality rate is 2.6%. The new deaths included 17 people over age 65, with 16 of those people having underlying health conditions. Seven of the deaths occurred in people between 18 and 40, and five of them had underlying health problems.

Ferrer noted that as of Wednesday, 324 health care workers have tested positive. More than half of them work in hospitals, but other cases have occurred at outpatient facilities and emergency medical services personnel. Nurses have had the largest number of cases, but doctors, paramedics and emergency medical technicians have also tested positive. Two health care workers in the county have died from the virus.

As of Tuesday, roughly 36,500 people have been tested for the virus in the county, although Ferrer noted that number is likely low, since multiple new testing sites have opened in recent days but figures have not yet been gathered from those new locations.

The county has set a goal of testing 10,000 people per day. With roughly 10% of those people ultimately testing positive, Ferrer has warned that the daily increases in case numbers will likely approach about 1,000.

New testing centers opened Wednesday at East Los Angeles College and at the Charles Drew University medical campus in Willowbrook. The county now has more than 20 testing centers across the region. Those centers and others operated by individual cities are restricted to people showing symptoms of COVID-19.

The county's coronavirus cases include 43 cases that occurred in jail settings -- three inmates and 40 staff members -- along with 10 cases in the state prison system -- eight inmates and two staffers. Two cases have been reported in a county juvenile facility, both involving staff members at the Barry Nidorf juvenile hall in Sylmar.

Twelve cases have been confirmed among the county's homeless population, up from two on Tuesday. Four cases have been reported in homeless shelters, involving two residents and two staff members.

Ferrer said there are now 131 institutional settings -- such as nursing homes, skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, shelters, jails and prisons -- that have had at least one case. Those institutions have had a total of 596 cases and 37 deaths, all among residents.

The outbreak among Los Angeles County nursing homes, prompted Ferrer on Tuesday to recommend that families bring their loved ones home to care for them if possible.

The coronavirus is also making its way through the ranks of first responders across Los Angeles County. On Tuesday four additional Los Angeles Police Department employees tested positive for COVID-19, the city's Emergency Operations Center reported, bringing the total to 47.

One employee has recovered and returned to work and two are hospitalized, according to Jessica Kellogg, public information officer for the Emergency Operations Center.

The Los Angeles Fire Department has 15 employees who have tested positive for the virus. Two have recovered and returned to work, and one is hospitalized, Kellogg said.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department reports that 24 employees have tested positive for COVID-19, and 394 employees are being quarantined, according to Deputy Trina Schrader.

Meanwhile, 12 Los Angeles County Fire Department employees have tested positive for the virus, according to the Los Angeles County Emergency Operations Joint Information Center.

"The Los Angeles County Fire Department continues on a daily basis to monitor our most important commodity, our employees," Chief Daryl L. Osby said.

"We have put into place a number of processes and stood up systems to help assess, monitor, test and treat our first responders that have been exposed and tested positive for COVID-19, so that they can recover and return to work."

It was not immediately clear how many Los Angeles County Fire Department employees have recovered and returned to duty.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.