Skip to main content

60 New COVID-19 Deaths Announced Alongside Concerns for Spread During Protests

Support Provided By

LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Despite being overshadowed by a week of protests against police brutality, the coronavirus continued to claim lives in Los Angeles County, with health officials today announcing 60 new deaths and 1,202 new confirmed COVID-19 cases.

Health officials and elected office-holders in Los Angeles County have expressed fear that crowded demonstrations stemming from the death of unarmed and unresisting George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody could serve as "super spreader" events and lead to a spike in coronavirus cases.

"We urge everyone, including the people across our community who are engaging in protest, to please care for each other by practicing physical distancing as much as possible and wearing a cloth face covering when around other people. These actions are important in preventing many more cases and hospitalizations from COVID-19," Los Angeles County public health director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement. "These actions can save lives."

Many protesters seemed to be heeding her advice about wearing masks, but even peaceful crowds seen in videos were failing to maintain social distancing. Police officers forming lines to contain protesters also seem to be closer than six feet apart.

No news briefing was held Tuesday, but the new numbers released by the Department of Public Health brought the total of deaths to 2,443. Long Beach subsequently announced five additional deaths, pushing the total to 2,448.

The new confirmed county cases, combined with another 101 announced Tuesday afternoon by Long Beach and three by Pasadena lifted the countywide total to 57,122.

Roughly 12% of people who have tested positive for COVID-19 were hospitalized at some point during their illness and roughly 375 people remain in intensive care units.

Many testing sites were closed Tuesday due to public safety concerns. However, testing capacity has continued to increase countywide, with more than 633,000 individuals getting results to date and 8% of those testing positive.

Any surge related to protests probably won't show up in the data until three or four weeks from now, given a 14-day incubation period for the coronavirus, Ferrer said Monday.

Numbers may also increase as state and county authorities allow more businesses to reopen, including dine-in restaurants and personal care businesses such as salons and barbershops. Those enterprises are allowed to reopen as soon as they can implement the required protocols for social distancing and infection control.

Higher-risk businesses, such as bars and wineries without sit-down meals must remain closed. However, many other stores that might otherwise be open were boarded up Tuesday out of fear of vandals and looters that have used some peaceful protests as an excuse for mayhem in Santa Monica, Long Beach, Beverly Hills and elsewhere. Other businesses will close early due to a countywide curfew 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Wednesday.

While protesters, many of whom skew younger, may think themselves less vulnerable to infection and illness, the latest numbers show that nearly 38% of all COVID-19 confirmed cases in Los Angeles County are among people 18- 40 years old.

Many have drawn attention to the fact that black residents have died at a higher rate from the virus, due at least in part to inequities in the health care system that create a higher rate of underlying health problems.

On Monday, Ferrer also confirmed the county's first known case of a jail inmate dying due to the virus, and data released by the Department of Public Health Tuesday showed two deaths, one at Men's Central Jail and one at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility. DPH personnel did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation.

Ferrer also announced the death of a pregnant woman, whose fetus also died, during the Monday briefing, as well as four more deaths among the county's homeless population, raising the number of homeless who have died from the virus to 11.

Ferrer said the total number of health care workers who have contracted the virus was 5,398, up 537 from last week. She said 39 health care workers have died from the illness, up nine from last Monday.

Breakdowns for homeless individuals and health care workers were not immediately available Tuesday.

Ferrer has stressed the need for people taking part in protests -- or gathering at any location -- to take precautions against spreading the virus.

"We need to keep as much distance from each other when we're out and about and we need to wear our face coverings, and that's how we get through the pandemic," she said. "So when we see examples where that's not happening, its a cause for concern, and from my perspective it's also a reminder to each of us that we can help other people remember how to be respectful and kind to each other by using those cloth face coverings."

Support Provided By
Read More
A row of cows stands in individual cages along a line of light-colored enclosures, placed along a dirt path under a blue sky dotted with white puffy clouds.

A Battle Is Underway Over California’s Lucrative Dairy Biogas Market

California is considering changes to a program that has incentivized dairy biogas, to transform methane emissions into a source of natural gas. Neighbors are pushing for an end to the subsidies because of its impact on air quality and possible water pollution.
A Black woman with long, black brains wears a black Chicago Bulls windbreaker jacket with red and white stripes as she stands at the top of a short staircase in a housing complex and rests her left hand on the metal railing. She smiles slightly while looking directly at the camera.

Los Angeles County Is Testing AI's Ability To Prevent Homelessness

In order to prevent people from becoming homeless before it happens, Los Angeles County officials are using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to predict who in the county is most likely to lose their housing. They would then step in to help those people with their rent, utility bills, car payments and more so they don't become unhoused.
blue themed graphic including electric vehicles are charging stations, wind turbines and trees, 2023 in reference to year

A Look Back at Climate Solutions In 2023

The U.S. may have a long way to go in its decarbonization goals, but these stories show signs of progress in climate solutions.