Hospitalizations Set Record As LA County Confirms 3,160 New Cases

LOS ANGELES, CA — For the fourth time in the past week, Los Angeles County reported a record number of COVID-19 patients in area hospitals, while health officials said the recent spike in cases can be attributed to people failing to adhere to social distancing and other infection-control measures.

According to the county health department, 2,232 people were hospitalized due to the coronavirus as of Monday, up from Sunday's record number of 2,216. Health officials said 26 percent of those patients were in intensive care.

The county announced another nine deaths due to the virus, although one of those fatalities was reported previously by health officials in Pasadena. Fatality numbers announced by the county are often lower on Mondays due to lags in weekend reporting.

The new deaths lifted the countywide total to 4,104.

Another 3,160 cases were confirmed by the county Monday, raising the overall total from the start of the pandemic to 159,045. Public health Director Barbara Ferrer said the average daily positivity rate among people tested for the virus over the past seven days was about 8 percent — above the statewide rate of 7.2 percent.

Health and elected officials, most notably Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, have warned in recent days that the area is on the brink of returning to stricter stay-at-home orders that might mean more widespread business closures and restrictions on public activities.

County officials said Monday the way to avoid such a move is clear — more vigilance about wearing face coverings in public, practicing physical distancing, avoiding public gatherings and parties and family get-togethers, and ensuring proper hygiene such as hand-washing.

Contact tracing not enough

Ferrer gave a detailed presentation Monday about contact tracing efforts, which can help track where patients became infected and get people who may have been exposed to quarantine themselves to stop future spread.

But she said contact tracing alone cannot stop the spread of the virus due to the "sheer magnitude" of the community spread of the illness.

"The No. 1 driver of the surge that we're experiencing today is simple to identify," she said. "People are interacting with each other, and they're not adhering to the recommended prevention measures. Contact tracing will not solve that. We know that people are tired and they are frustrated, and we know for many of you, you're also scared.

"But we do know that the best most proactive actions at our disposal to contain the spread of this virus is the proper and consistent use of face coverings, paired with physical distancing and hand hygiene," Ferrer said. "This is a community effort. We have the power to slow the devastating spread of this virus."

She said contact tracing does play a major role in the county's effort to get ahead of the spread and reach people who may be unknowingly spreading the virus. Ferrer said the county is allocating $10 million to outreach efforts to community organizations to ensure residents get connected with services and support if they have to isolate or quarantine.

The county has also begun offering $20 gift cards as an incentive for people who test positive for the virus to take part in the contact tracing interview process, an hourlong process that Ferrer acknowledged can be stressful and requires people to look through their calendars and work schedules to identify their movements over recent weeks.

Ferrer said the county has also established a call center that coronavirus-positive patients can call — 833-540-0473 — to be connected with available resources. The county is also starting to use text messaging to keep in touch with people under quarantine orders to check on their condition, she said.

"Our hope is that through better communication and the availability of additional support, individuals who are positive and their close contacts will be willing to work with public health to avoid spreading the virus," she said.

Inflammatory syndrome in children causes alarm

Late last week, public health officials said a rare but serious and potentially deadly inflammatory syndrome believed to be associated with the coronavirus has now been identified in 15 children in Los Angeles County. Of the children, 73 percent were Latino, representing a disproportionate burden for the ethnic group. Latino residents are the largest ethnic group in LA County, making up about half of the county's residents.

Nationally, about 70 percent of the cases of the inflammatory syndrome have been either Latino or Black patients, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C, can cause different parts of the body to become inflamed, such as the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes or gastrointestinal organs, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Symptoms include fever, pain in the abdomen, vomiting, diarrhea, neck pain, rash, bloodshot eyes and exhaustion.

The syndrome has also been called pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome, or PIMS.

Most of the children developed MIS-C about two to four weeks after being infected with the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, the CDC says. No one who has experienced the syndrome has died in LA County. But the syndrome is potentially deadly.

As of July 15, the CDC received reports of 342 cases and six deaths related to the inflammatory syndrome, The Times reported. Of them, at least 99 cases and two deaths were in New York state.

In LA County, the median age of those experiencing the syndrome was 8, according to health officials, while 40 percent were 5 or younger; another 40 percent were between 6 and 12; and the remaining 20 percent were between 13 and 20.

The locations with laboratory-confirmed coronavirus cases around Los Angeles County, as of Monday, are:

• Los Angeles County: 150,900 (excluding Long Beach and Pasadena)
• Long Beach: 6,445
• Pasadena: 1,700

Confirmed cases by city:

• Agoura Hills: 89
• Alhambra: 736
• Arcadia: 269
• Artesia: 187
• Avalon: 5
• Azusa: 828
• Baldwin Park: 1648
• Bell: 956
• Bell Gardens: 1143
• Bellflower: 1439
• Beverly Hills: 496
• Bradbury: 7
• Burbank: 823
• Calabasas: 174
• Carson: 1033
• Cerritos: 357
• Claremont: 206
• Commerce: 341
• Compton: 2335
• Covina: 787
• Cudahy: 695
• Culver City: 287
• Diamond Bar: 332
• Downey: 2653
• Duarte: 311
• El Monte: 2578
• El Segundo: 87
• Gardena: 728
• Glendale: 1982
• Glendora: 763
• Hawaiian Gardens: 306
• Hawthorne: 1144
• Hermosa Beach: 134
• Hidden Hills: 5
• Huntington Park: 1745
• Industry: 20
• Inglewood: 1628
• Irwindale: 42
• La Canada Flintridge: 104
• La Habra Heights: 20
• La Mirada: 537
• La Puente: 865
• La Verne: 242
• Lakewood: 776
• Lancaster: 1716
• Lawndale: 377
• Lomita: 151
• Lynwood: 2051
• Malibu: 71
• Manhattan Beach: 228
• Maywood: 851
• Monrovia: 446
• Montebello: 1392
• Monterey Park: 516
• Norwalk: 1979
• Palmdale: 1992
• Palos Verdes Estates: 63
• Paramount: 1467
• Pico Rivera: 1521
• Pomona: 2763
• Rancho Palos Verdes: 200
• Redondo Beach: 349
• Rolling Hills: 4
• Rolling Hills Estates: 30
• Rosemead: 460
• San Dimas: 298
• San Fernando: 484
• San Gabriel: 351
• San Marino: 43
• Santa Clarita: 1808
• Santa Fe Springs: 318
• Santa Monica: 554
• Sierra Madre: 45
• Signal Hill: 156
• South El Monte: 461
• South Gate: 2797
• South Pasadena: 202
• Temple City: 357
• Torrance: 865
• Vernon: 18
• Walnut: 165
• West Covina: 1758
• West Hollywood: 389
• Westlake Village: 17
• Whittier: 1312
• Los Angeles: 65,145
• Los Angeles - Adams-Normandie: 144
• Los Angeles - Alsace: 229
• Los Angeles - Angeles National Forest: 2
• Los Angeles - Angelino Heights: 38
• Los Angeles - Arleta: 772
• Los Angeles - Atwater Village: 135
• Los Angeles - Baldwin Hills: 384
• Los Angeles - Bel Air: 56
• Los Angeles - Beverly Crest: 69
• Los Angeles - Beverlywood: 99
• Los Angeles - Boyle Heights: 2688
• Los Angeles - Brentwood: 177
• Los Angeles - Brookside: 1
• Los Angeles - Cadillac-Corning: 74
• Los Angeles - Canoga Park: 1100
• Los Angeles - Carthay: 161
• Los Angeles - Central: 1406
• Los Angeles - Century City: 84
• Los Angeles - Century Palms/Cove: 947
• Los Angeles - Chatsworth: 407
• Los Angeles - Cheviot Hills: 45
• Los Angeles - Chinatown: 66
• Los Angeles - Cloverdale/Cochran: 202
• Los Angeles - Country Club Park: 204
• Los Angeles - Crenshaw District: 182
• Los Angeles - Crestview: 141
• Los Angeles - Del Rey: 209
• Los Angeles - Downtown: 481
• Los Angeles - Eagle Rock: 422
• Los Angeles - East Hollywood: 428
• Los Angeles - Echo Park: 128
• Los Angeles - El Sereno: 700
• Los Angeles - Elysian Park: 60
• Los Angeles - Elysian Valley: 156
• Los Angeles - Encino: 338
• Los Angeles - Exposition: 50
• Los Angeles - Exposition Park: 787
• Los Angeles - Faircrest Heights: 23
• Los Angeles - Figueroa Park Square: 184
• Los Angeles - Florence-Firestone: 1411
• Los Angeles - Glassell Park: 406
• Los Angeles - Gramercy Place: 149
• Los Angeles - Granada Hills: 715
• Los Angeles - Green Meadows: 552
• Los Angeles - Hancock Park: 158
• Los Angeles - Harbor City: 315
• Los Angeles - Harbor Gateway: 526
• Los Angeles - Harbor Pines: 11
• Los Angeles - Harvard Heights: 358
• Los Angeles - Harvard Park: 947
• Los Angeles - Highland Park: 686
• Los Angeles - Historic Filipinotown: 278
• Los Angeles - Hollywood: 721
• Los Angeles - Hollywood Hills: 191
• Los Angeles - Hyde Park: 480
• Los Angeles - Jefferson Park: 167
• Los Angeles - Koreatown: 694
• Los Angeles - Lafayette Square: 50
• Los Angeles - Lake Balboa: 520
• Los Angeles - Lakeview Terrace: 368
• Los Angeles - Leimert Park: 195
• Los Angeles - Lincoln Heights: 705
• Los Angeles - Little Armenia: 281
• Los Angeles - Little Bangladesh: 316
• Los Angeles - Little Tokyo: 45
• Los Angeles - Longwood: 74
• Los Angeles - Los Feliz: 128
• Los Angeles - Manchester Square: 84
• Los Angeles - Mandeville Canyon: 9
• Los Angeles - Mar Vista: 202
• Los Angeles - Marina Peninsula: 22
• Los Angeles - Melrose: 1214
• Los Angeles - Mid-city: 205
• Los Angeles - Miracle Mile: 105
• Los Angeles - Mission Hills: 423
• Los Angeles - Mt. Washington: 294
• Los Angeles - North Hills: 1044
• Los Angeles - North Hollywood: 1908
• Los Angeles - Northridge: 827
• Los Angeles - Pacific Palisades: 89
• Los Angeles - Pacoima: 1860
• Los Angeles - Palisades Highlands: 17
• Los Angeles - Palms: 377
• Los Angeles - Panorama City: 1614
• Los Angeles - Park La Brea: 62
• Los Angeles - Pico-Union: 1239
• Los Angeles - Playa Del Rey: 16
• Los Angeles - Playa Vista: 81
• Los Angeles - Porter Ranch: 205
• Los Angeles - Rancho Park: 57
• Los Angeles - Regent Square: 21
• Los Angeles - Reseda: 1331
• Los Angeles - Reseda Ranch: 52
• Los Angeles - Reynier Village: 26
• Los Angeles - San Pedro: 1426
• Los Angeles - Shadow Hills: 28
• Los Angeles - Sherman Oaks: 592
• Los Angeles - Silverlake: 417
• Los Angeles - South Carthay: 71
• Los Angeles - South Park: 1276
• Los Angeles - St Elmo Village: 91
• Los Angeles - Studio City: 165
• Los Angeles - Sun Valley: 824
• Los Angeles - Sunland: 294
• Los Angeles - Sycamore Square: 3
• Los Angeles - Sylmar: 1878
• Los Angeles - Tarzana: 451
• Los Angeles - Temple-Beaudry: 786
• Los Angeles - Thai Town: 94
• Los Angeles - Toluca Lake: 65
• Los Angeles - Toluca Terrace: 14
• Los Angeles - Toluca Woods: 11
• Los Angeles - Tujunga: 234
• Los Angeles - University Hills: 41
• Los Angeles - University Park: 495
• Los Angeles - Valley Glen: 319
• Los Angeles - Valley Village: 359
• Los Angeles - Van Nuys: 1622
• Los Angeles - Venice: 159
• Los Angeles - Vermont Knolls: 476
• Los Angeles - Vermont Square: 215
• Los Angeles - Vermont Vista: 1156
• Los Angeles - Vernon Central: 1887
• Los Angeles - Victoria Park: 124
• Los Angeles - View Heights: 22
• Los Angeles - Watts: 1111
• Los Angeles - Wellington Square: 71
• Los Angeles - West Adams: 568
• Los Angeles - West Hills: 315
• Los Angeles - West Los Angeles: 322
• Los Angeles - West Vernon: 1383
• Los Angeles - Westchester: 254
• Los Angeles - Westlake: 1690
• Los Angeles - Westwood: 202
• Los Angeles - Wholesale District: 1772
• Los Angeles - Wilmington: 972
• Los Angeles - Wilshire Center: 676
• Los Angeles - Winnetka: 740
• Los Angeles - Woodland Hills: 524
• Unincorporated - Acton: 40
• Unincorporated - Agua Dulce: 15
• Unincorporated - Altadena: 362
• Unincorporated - Anaverde: 5
• Unincorporated - Angeles National Forest: 3
• Unincorporated - Arcadia: 54
• Unincorporated - Athens-Westmont: 895
• Unincorporated - Athens Village: 124
• Unincorporated - Avocado Heights: 150
• Unincorporated - Azusa: 293
• Unincorporated - Bassett: 412
• Unincorporated - Bouquet Canyon: 1
• Unincorporated - Bradbury: 4
• Unincorporated - Canyon Country: 65
• Unincorporated - Castaic: 1836
• Unincorporated - Cerritos: 7
• Unincorporated - Claremont: 3
• Unincorporated - Covina: 250
• Unincorporated - Covina (Charter Oak): 191
• Unincorporated - Del Aire: 39
• Unincorporated - Del Rey: 1
• Unincorporated - Del Sur: 3
• Unincorporated - Desert View Highlands: 14
• Unincorporated - Duarte: 75
• Unincorporated - East Covina: 3
• Unincorporated - East La Mirada: 68
• Unincorporated - East Los Angeles: 3790
• Unincorporated - East Pasadena: 22
• Unincorporated - East Rancho Dominguez: 364
• Unincorporated - East Whittier: 50
• Unincorporated - El Camino Village: 97
• Unincorporated - El Monte: 5
• Unincorporated - Elizabeth Lake: 5
• Unincorporated - Florence-Firestone: 2045
• Unincorporated - Glendora: 4
• Unincorporated - Hacienda Heights: 615
• Unincorporated - Hawthorne: 31
• Unincorporated - Hi Vista: 1
• Unincorporated - Kagel/Lopez Canyons: 13
• Unincorporated - La Crescenta-Montrose: 89
• Unincorporated - La Rambla: 69
• Unincorporated - La Verne: 16
• Unincorporated - Ladera Heights: 49
• Unincorporated - Lake Hughes: 1
• Unincorporated - Lake Los Angeles: 106
• Unincorporated - Lake Manor: 13
• Unincorporated - Lennox: 377
• Unincorporated - Leona Valley: 14
• Unincorporated - Littlerock: 43
• Unincorporated - Littlerock/Juniper Hills: 4
• Unincorporated - Littlerock/Pearblossom: 47
• Unincorporated - Llano: 2
• Unincorporated - Marina del Rey: 45
• Unincorporated - Monrovia: 51
• Unincorporated - Newhall: 4
• Unincorporated - North Lancaster: 9
• Unincorporated - North Whittier: 118
• Unincorporated - Northeast San Gabriel: 202
• Unincorporated - Padua Hills: 1
• Unincorporated - Palmdale: 15
• Unincorporated - Palos Verdes Peninsula: 1
• Unincorporated - Pearblossom/Llano: 13
• Unincorporated - Pellissier Village: 15
• Unincorporated - Pomona: 8
• Unincorporated - Quartz Hill: 103
• Unincorporated - Rancho Dominguez: 51
• Unincorporated - Roosevelt: 3
• Unincorporated - Rosewood: 15
• Unincorporated - Rosewood/East Gardena: 12
• Unincorporated - Rosewood/West Rancho Dominguez: 55
• Unincorporated - Rowland Heights: 406
• Unincorporated - San Jose Hills: 392
• Unincorporated - San Pasqual: 6
• Unincorporated - Sand Canyon: 2
• Unincorporated - Santa Catalina Island: 6
• Unincorporated - Santa Monica Mountains: 71
• Unincorporated - Saugus: 11
• Unincorporated - Saugus/Canyon Country: 1
• Unincorporated - South Antelope Valley: 1
• Unincorporated - South El Monte: 38
• Unincorporated - South San Gabriel: 117
• Unincorporated - South Whittier: 993
• Unincorporated - Southeast Antelope Valley: 8
• Unincorporated - Stevenson Ranch: 92
• Unincorporated - Sun Village: 81
• Unincorporated - Sunrise Village: 24
• Unincorporated - Twin Lakes/Oat Mountain: 9
• Unincorporated - Val Verde: 37
• Unincorporated - Valencia: 29
• Unincorporated - Valinda: 447
• Unincorporated - View Park/Windsor Hills: 93
• Unincorporated - Walnut Park: 455
• Unincorporated - West Antelope Valley: 3
• Unincorporated - West Carson: 235
• Unincorporated - West LA: 31
• Unincorporated - West Puente Valley: 240
• Unincorporated - West Rancho Dominguez: 18
• Unincorporated - West Whittier/Los Nietos: 568
• Unincorporated - Westfield/Academy Hills: 3
• Unincorporated - Westhills: 7
• Unincorporated - White Fence Farms: 29
• Unincorporated - Whittier: 49
• Unincorporated - Willowbrook: 890
• Unincorporated - Wiseburn: 79
• Under Investigation: 4,250

City News Service contributed to this report.

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