31July 2020
LOS ANGELES, CA– The increase in coronavirus deaths that Los Angeles County health officials have been predicting arrived today as hundreds of Angelenos passed away from COVID-19.
A few days after setting a grim record for day-to-day COVID-19 deaths in Los Angeles– 91 lives lost, Los Angeles continues to see high day-to-day death tolls. Another 69 deaths were reported across Los Angeles County on Friday. The report capped a week in which the typical daily coronavirus deaths spiked from previous week's average of 38 deaths. Considering That June, Los Angeles County has seen a significant increase in new coronavirus infections, but the death rate remained relatively low. That was partly since the coronavirus is spreading out more amongst youths. It likewise might have simply taken some time for the death toll to catch up with the surging break out.
The new deaths increased the countywide death toll given that the start of the pandemic to 4,624. Health authorities across Los Angeles County likewise confirmed another 2,711 cases Friday, bringing the countywide overall of cases from throughout the pandemic increased to 188,541. Health officials have been cautioning about an expected boost in deaths, following a sharp increase in hospitalizations that began in mid-July, approximately two weeks after the Fourth of July weekend that is being blamed for triggering many public events despite health limitations prohibiting them.
“As we are seeing increases these previous couple of days in the numbers of people passing away from COVID-19, the reality of the devastation can not be overlooked,” county public health director Barbara Ferrer stated in a declaration. “Nor can we ignore the reality that there are actions everyone can take to prevent these terrible outcomes.
“Together, we can slow the spread of this deadly infection with basic acts of regard and compassion– use a face covering, prevent gathering with people you do not cope with, stay at home as much as possible and practice hand hygiene,” she said. “Together, we can recover.”
Healthcare facility admissions have been leveling off over the previous week, however the number of people hospitalized still stays high, with 2,002 confirmed clients as of Friday. That number topped 2,200 for a number of days earlier this month, the highest level of the pandemic.
The county once again reminded entrepreneurs of their responsibility to stick to public health protocols for operating, consisting of the requirement to report to the county any break outs of three or more cases.
The county's health officer, Dr. Muntu Davis, told press reporters Thursday that 3 food-processing plants that were just recently shuttered by the county due to massive outbreaks stopped working to report the cases to the county. All of them had at least 40 verified cases of the virus, but the county only found out of the outbreaks through a confidential tipline.
Those break outs occurred at Golden State Foods Corp. in Industry, S&S Foods in Azusa and Mission Foods in Commerce. While the companies have reopened, Davis said an investigation is continuing into two deaths of Mission Food workers that might have due to the virus.
Family members of among those employees, 67-year-old Jose Roberto Alvarez Mena, have complained that his death could have been prevented, stating workers at Mission Foods were never ever alerted about an outbreak of the health problem.
“It implied that not every precaution was taken, and this probably could have been prevented,” Mena's daughter, Alisha Alvarez, informed CBS2.
A Mission Foods' executive informed the station in a statement that the center was closed for only one day, during which it worked with county officials to guarantee the business was in complete compliance with health guidelines.
City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.