The number of L.A. county coronavirus cases exceeds 31,600, as nursing homes are still the hardest hit.

The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County exceeded 31,600 on Sunday, and it was still nursing homes that hit the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in California.

Nearly half of the 1,530 people known to have died from COVID-19 in L.A. County lived in a crowded environment. Most of them lived in nursing homes, according to Barbara Ferrer, county public health director.

Los Angeles County Public Health Department on Sunday report 484 new cases of coronavirus and another 18 deaths due to the respiratory illness it causes.

According to the county’s Department of Health, LA County has at least 200 skilled nursing homes, with staff and residents testing positive for viruses. list Of facilities with known cases.

The largest virus population in the county’s nursing home is at Briar Oak on Sunset, an East Hollywood facility where 72 employees and 79 residents tested positive for the virus.

As the coronavirus continues to spread throughout the county, people over the age of 65 and those with underlying illnesses are the most vulnerable to serious illness, and authorities have been inspected at all Los Angeles county facilities, especially nursing homes, for the past few weeks. We are focusing on expanding.

They have begun testing all staff and residents, whether or not they show symptoms of respiratory illness.

Ferrer says the majority of people who test positive in such situations did not show symptoms of COVID-19.

But even if the county is working to address the problem by increasing testing, Friday’s Ferrer said there were some barriers.

Many of the institutions are working on a staffing shortage that has made it difficult to prioritize testing asymptomatic people, she said.

Also, according to the health director, if the facility tries to order itself, it will be late in getting the test kit.

As of Friday morning, 95 of the 300+ skilled nursing homes in the county were able to test all residents and staff.

Ferrer said some of the skilled nursing facilities “designated themselves as COVID-19 facilities.” This means new patients with COVID-19 can be admitted from hospitals and other nursing facilities to allow patients to be isolated from hospitals and isolated to prevent infections.

To address the shortage of staff in state-wide nursing homes, staff at the US Navy Hospital USNS Mercy began supporting a skilled nursing facility in the Los Angeles area on Friday, Governor Gavin Newtham announced.

Before that, USNS Mercy spokesman Andrew Bertucci said 40 employees had been outboarded to support a nursing facility in Orange County.

The vessel arrived at the Los Angeles port on March 27 and rescued the hospital because authorities feared a flood of COVID-19 patients could overwhelm medical personnel.

But as the social separation efforts materialize, subsequent projections show that local hospitals will be able to meet bed and ventilator demands in the coming weeks. . As of Sunday, 5,410 positive coronavirus tests required hospitalization throughout the county.

The Navy’s ship eventually ended up treating 77 patients and, six weeks after docking, discharged the final patient Thursday, news release.

“We are still in Los Angeles, supporting the FEMA, state authorities, and local agencies supporting skilled nursing facilities,” Bertucci said. “We are still here to support California and address whatever their needs are.”

It is unknown how long the ship and its staff will stay in Los Angeles.

So far, 92% of Los Angeles County residents who died of COVID-19 have underlying illness.

Despite the county’s move to reopen more places, Ferrer urged people with compromised immune systems to stay home.

“Every day, I report these numbers, knowing that some people are mourning their loved ones who have died from COVID-19. Feller said in a statement in writing.” To get started, we thank you all for guiding us up to this point: more than ever, delaying the spread of COVID-19, protecting the most vulnerable members of the community, and Importantly, we all must continue to play this role to save lives. “