Editor’s note: On Friday, LA County updated figures to eight confirmed cases in Boyle Heights, six in East Los Angeles. Please read updated story here.
Authorities confirmed nine new deaths and 421 new cases of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Los Angeles County Thursday, including two new cases in Boyle Heights and one new case in East Los Angeles.
The total number of cases in those neighborhoods are now seven in Boyle Heights and four in East LA.
According to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, there have been 559 new cases confirmed over the last 48 hours.
To date, Public Health has identified 1216 cases across all areas of LA County, including 21 deaths. As of Thursday, 253 positive cases (21% of positive cases) had been hospitalized.
On Wednesday, new Health Officer Orders were issued to ensure that individuals who test positive for COVID-19, and those who are told by a clinician they are presumed to be positive for COVID-19 are required to self-isolate for a period of seven days and three days of being symptom free.
Additionally, those who have been in close contact with someone who is positive or presumed positive must quarantine themselves for 14 days from their last exposure to that person.
“We are sad to report these nine additional deaths today – it is the highest daily number we’ve released to date,” said Barbara Ferrer, Public Health Director. “Unfortunately, we have been expecting this. To the families and loved ones, we are deeply sorry for your loss. This dramatic increase in cases is due in part to increased testing capacity in LA County which is allowing us to identify more positive cases.”
Health authorities said it is critically important that everyone adheres to all the social distancing measures and practice good public health hygiene, including washing hands as frequently as possible.
“In order to slow the spread and save lives, all of us must do our part by staying home, adhering to all social distancing measures and caring for each other,” Ferrer said.
Public Health has issued the following guidance during this time of increased spread:
- If you are mildly sick, stay home for at least seven days or until 72 hours after being fever free, whichever is longer. Call your doctor if you are concerned and/or your symptoms worsen. Individuals who are elderly, have underlying health conditions or pregnant should consider contacting their providers earlier when they are sick.
Additional things you can do to protect yourself, your family and your community are on the Public Health website: http://publichealth.lacounty.gov.
