COVID-19 Death Toll Hits Grim Milestone In Los Angeles County

LOS ANGELES, CA — The coronaviru has now killed more than 2,000 people in Los Angeles County, a grim milestone that comes as the region attempts to negotiate a safe way to reopen.

The number of new cases — 1,204 on Tuesday — simply aren't going down in Los Angeles County, which accounts for nearly 60% of the COVID-19 deaths statewide. However, the spread of the virus is slowing, giving hope LA can find a way out of the shutdown. With more than half of the state's coronavirus cases clustered in the county, Angelenos can expect a slower return to normal.

Still officials are shooting for a full reopening by July 4, and County Supervisor Supervisor Janice Hahn on Thursday called for Gov. Gavin Newsom to reopen all retailers. The move would give small businesses a chance to compete with the big box retailers able to thrive while fulfilling curbside pickup orders, she said.

Pushing back against the drive to reopen quickly are county health officials.
With 46 new deaths reported Thursday, Los Angeles County has lost 2,016 people to the coronavirus, said Barbara Ferrer, director of the county Department of Public Health.

“This is a very sad milestone for us,” she said.

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The county has confirmed 42,037 case overall, and the vast majority those infected are of working age. According to Ferrer, roughly 76% of all positive cases in the county have been among people between 18 and 65.

"This is the age group that makes up the majority of our workforce," Ferrer said. "So as more people are going back to work, it's an important reminder that people at the workplace may be infected, even if they aren't feeling sick. And we need our employers and our employees to work together to make sure that employees and customers are in an environment that's as safe as possible."

While the case numbers continue to go up, Ferrer stressed that key indicators tracked by the health department show that the spread of the virus is slowing. She pointed to figures released earlier this week indicating that people who test positive for the illness in the county are now infecting an average of less than one other person, down from three early in the pandemic.

"This is very good news," she said. "And it shows that what we're doing over the past few weeks -- staying at home, the physical distancing, wearing our cloth face coverings -- has resulted in a reduced number of infections from what we would have had had we not taken any actions."

Ferrer also pointed to serology testing results released this week, showing that 2.1% of test subjects had antibodies to the virus in their systems, indicating they had been infected at some point. That figure is down from 4.1% in test subjects just one month ago.

She also noted that the county's seven-day average of daily deaths is 37, down 12% from the prior seven-day period. The three-day average of daily hospitalizations is 1,532, which is down 15% from the prior three days.

Ferrer said data shows local hospitals also have adequate bed space and ICU space, and they generally all have adequate supplies of personal protective equipment, although some hospitals are falling short of the target number of available gowns.

"All of this ... lets us know that the extraordinary efforts and sacrifices made by all of you are working," she said. "As a community, we've done this together and this progress is a direct reflection of what all of you in your day-to-day lives have been able to accomplish.

"... Through our recovery journey, as we're all out of our homes more, it may become more difficult to slow the spread, but it is far from impossible."

For her part, Hahn urged a change of course toward opening up more businesses quickly, noting the shutdown rules seem to be favoring major retailers deemed essential businesses at the expense of smaller retailers.

“What seemed to be a necessary measure at the early onset of this crisis has unintentionally created winners and losers in this ‘pandemic economy,’ with large retail businesses able to operate, while small retail businesses are struggling and limited to curbside pickup, she said in a written statement.

Supervisor Hilda Solis, however, said we must resist pressure to move too fast. The outbreak is disproportionately hurting communities of color with higher infection rates and worse outcomes.

“Let’s be frank: The economic crisis for communities of color predates COVID-19,” Solis said at Thursday's briefing. “COVID-19 has magnified that reality.”

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