LA County Surpasses 16K Total COVID-19 Deaths, Nears 1.1M Cases
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Thursday reported 6,592 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases and 213 deaths, bringing countywide totals to 1,097,941 cases and 16,107 deaths.
"COVID-19 deaths reflect transmission that occurred weeks earlier," the department said in a statement. "Because of the recent surge in cases and hospitalizations earlier this month, the County will likely continue to experience high number of deaths a day for some time."
On Saturday, the county surpassed the grim milestone of more than 15,000 total COVID-19 deaths. In less than one week, the county has reported nearly 1,000 additional fatalities.
Of the new deaths reported Thursday, 62 people were over the age of 80, 69 people were between the ages of 65 and 79, 38 people were between the ages of 50 and 64, 24 people were between the ages of 30 and 49, one person was between the ages of 18 and 29 and one death was under investigation.
Health officials also reported that there have been a total of nine deaths among the 5,569 pregnant women who tested positive for COVID-19. Among the 3,405 births where there was testing available, 46 infants tested positive for the virus.
There were 6,026 COVID-19 patients hospitalized Thursday, 26% of whom were being treated in intensive care units.
"We have a way to go before our hospitals are not stressed and fewer people die each day," Dr. Barbara Ferrer, county public health director, said. "Staying on a recovery journey is only possible if we all play by the rules."
With testing results available for nearly 5,446,000 people, the county's overall positivity rate was holding steady at 19%.
