As Outbreak Slows, LA Tested By Return Of Mass Demonstrations

LOS ANGELES, CA — Like a troubling case of deja vu, Los Angeles County officials are once again watching as crowds spill into the streets for widespread demonstrations just a the county reaches a tipping point in the coronavirus outbreak.

Over the last few days, thousands have gathered for protests at far corners of the county to denounce police brutality in the wake of the Jacob Blake police shooting in Wisconsin and to mark the 50th anniversary of the Chicano Moratorium. At the same time, Los Angeles is just beginning to see the daily coronavirus death toll drop after the summer surge that followed the mass protests in June.

Although coronavirus cases, deaths and hospitalizations have been declining in general of late, the county Department of Public Health continued to warn residents not to become lax in following preventive guidelines, such as wearing face coverings and social distancing.
On Thursday, the agency recognized the resurgence of protests in recent days.

The county urged people planning to take part in such events to stay home if they are sick, seek medical attention if they are displaying COVID-19 symptoms, wear a face covering, try to maintain physical distance from others, bring along hand sanitizer and keep their hands clean.

On Saturday, Los Angeles County reported another notable drop in new coronavirus caes and deaths. The county reported 1,339 new cases of COVID-19 and 27 additional deaths Saturday, bringing the county's totals to 239,756 cases and 5,759 fatalities.

The number of people hospitalized as of Saturday was 1,116, down from 1,168 on Friday and well below last month, when the number regularly topped 2,000.

County health officials are warning that the coronavirus can infect children as easily as it can adults, while also reporting three additional local cases of a pediatric inflammatory syndrome linked to COVID-19 infections.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday released a revised system for tracking counties' efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus, and providing guidance on possible reopening of more businesses and schools.

But the county stressed that local officials had not yet fully reviewed the new state guidance, and the local health order has not been changed to allow such businesses to reopen.

"We extend our condolences to all who are grieving the loss of a loved one to COVID-19, and may peace and comfort find you during this difficult time," said Barbara Ferrer, the county's director of public health.

"In order for our county to move through the state's tier structure which will allow us to reopen more businesses, we must slow the COVID-19 transmission rates we are seeing. Currently, we are in Tier 1 with widespread community transmission and an average of about 13 new cases a day per 100,000 residents. This tier carries the most restrictions for the re-opening of many sectors. To demonstrate reduced spread of the virus and move to Tier 2, we need to reduce our transmission rate to 7 new cases a day per 100,000 residents," she continued.

"...For everyone throwing or attending parties, hanging out in crowded spaces, or insisting that the public health rules don't apply to you or your business, your actions make it much more likely that we remain in Tier 1 for many weeks to come; this makes it harder for our children to get back to school and for many adults to get back to work."

The health department on Friday also confirmed another three local cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome, or MIS-C, in children, bringing the total to 28. The syndrome affects primarily children, but can be found in people up to age 20, resulting in inflammation of body parts including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin eyes and gastrointestinal organs, potentially having life-long health impacts.

There have not been any deaths from the syndrome reported in the county.

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