LA County Department of Public Health announces 55 additional COVID-19 deaths
By Sam Catanzaro
For the third day in a row, Los Angeles County health officials announced record COVID-19 death-toll numbers.
On Thursday, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) announced 55 new deaths and 399 new cases of COVID-19. This is the largest increase in new deaths surpassing yesterday’s count of 42.
“One of the tragic realities of this pandemic is the daily report of lives lost to COVID-19. The frequency of these reports does not diminish our sympathy or our resolve to restore wellness to our community,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Director of Public Health. “Taking steps to slow the spread of COVID-19 has asked everyone to do their part. The sacrifices made cannot be counted: some have lost loved ones, some have been ill, some have lost jobs, some have had to temporarily close businesses, some are guiding children through remote learning, and everyone has had to live our day-to-day life very differently than we are used to.”
According to Public Health, 24 people who died were over the age of 65, 11 people who died were between the ages of 41 to 65 years old and one person who died was between the ages of 18 to 40 years old. 21 people had underlying health conditions. Eleven people over the age of 65 and four people between the ages of 41 to 65 years old had no reported underlying health conditions.
As of Thursday, there have been 10,845 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of LA County, including 26 in Century City and 37 in Westwood, and a total of 455 deaths.
A Public Health order in effect until May 15 requires essential businesses to provide a cloth face covering for all employees to wear while performing duties that involve contact with other employees and or the public and to post physical distancing plans. The public is required to wear a face covering to enter essential businesses as well.
In addition, beaches, trails and trailheads and non-essential businesses remain closed, and all public and private gatherings of any number of people occurring outside a single household or living unit remain prohibited.
