A workplace that promotes the spread of coronaviruses

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Angels – As the coronavirus continues to spread throughout Southland, Los Angeles County chief of health warned Thursday that workplaces are the leading cause of infections and employers are obliged to enforce health restrictions to protect their employees. Did.

Over the past few months, inspectors have responded to 2,000 to 3,000 complaints a week about potential health protocol breaches at work, said county health official Dr Muntu Davis.

Dozens of workplace outbreaks are under investigation, the largest of which continue Los Angeles Apparel According to Davis, a clothing manufacturing facility in South Los Angeles. Health officials reported last week that 300 employees of the plant were positive for coronavirus and four died.

Relation: 300 employees tested positive for COVID-19, 4 dead, South LA clothing factory closed

Davis said Thursday that the number of confirmed cases at the facility had increased to 375 of the company’s 2,290 employees.

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“Manufacturers are still closed until they complete an investigation of contacts that may have additional activity to comply with regulations and may need to be quarantined there,” he said. It was

Davis said the number of recent incidents in the work environment has skyrocketed. The outbreaks are most vulnerable to food processing companies and distribution facilities such as meat filling factories, manufacturers, garment factories and wholesale warehouses, he said.

“These workplaces have some things in common,” he said. “They are large employers with a large number of low-paid workers, and they have workers who are spending long shifts close together and in indoor spaces.”

These situations contribute to data showing that “blacks, Latinos, and people in high poverty areas bear the brunt of the virus.”

Relation: Keep all coronavirus related information up to date

The county also said that “there is not the required compliance with the Directorate General of Public Health’s directives that are in place to keep people’s health and life safe,” and many employers still do not meet operating regulations. Said.

“Companies have a corporate, moral, and social responsibility to their employees to provide a safe work environment,” he said. “They must adhere to the instructions of all health officials. People’s health, life and livelihood are at stake.”

Davis points out that while the county receives and responds to thousands of workplace complaints a week, some workers may be reluctant to step forward in fear of retaliation from their employers. Did. He said the county at 800-700-9995 has a hotline that workers can call to safely report possible violations.

According to Davis, employers, in general, will be willing to comply after inspectors’ visits, and counties are very rarely liable for high fines and criminal prosecution.

Davis’ comment took place the day after the county announced a 65% expansion in its service capacity. County medical director Dr. Christina Gurley said new locations have been established in Montebello, Southgate, Asza, Panorama City, Compton, and Downey Norwalk. She said existing sites are being expanded at Bellflower, Pomona, El Monte and East Los Angeles.

As of Wednesday, the county had 2,193 hospitalized in the county and does not include Long Beach and Pasadena, which have their own medical departments. That number is the highest since the beginning of the pandemic.

The death toll from coronaviruses in the county was 3,937 as of Wednesday, with 143,207 cases. The average daily number of confirmed cases in the county has doubled over the past two months, from 1,452 in early June to 2,859 today, said Barbara Ferrer, director of public health.

Over 1.4 million people were screened for the virus during the pandemic, with an overall positive rate of 9% as of Wednesday. The moving average over the past 7 days was slightly higher at 9.8%.

Ferrer once again said that young residents aged between 18 and 40 continue to represent a larger population of people who are virus-positive and occupy hospital space-this trend suggests a Memorial Day weekend. It started from.

“Young people between the ages of 18 and 40 have also been hospitalized at a much higher rate than ever seen and are on the rise, now nearly 30%,” Ferrer said.

Health officials should make residents more strict in complying with infection control measures, such as keeping them away from society, avoiding gatherings with people outside their households, and wearing face coverings in public places. We are calling the residents urgently.

They called upon the residents to stay home as much as possible, refusing to pinpoint the exact trigger point that could return to the original “Safer At Home” order that left most of the business closed and closed most businesses. Did.

Relation: CoronavirusNOW.comFOX launches national hub for COVID-19 news and updates.

“If we did a really good job of implementing all the tools at hand, we could go back to delaying spreads, which would greatly reduce our chances of returning to Safer At Home,” Ferrer said. I said on Wednesday.

On Monday, Governor Gavin Newtham updated business limits in 30 California counties, including Los Angeles. His orders closed the indoor gym, hair salon, nail salon, place of worship, massage shops and tattoo parlors. Newsom also ordered the statewide closure of all bars and compulsory restaurants throughout California and discontinued indoor services.

On Tuesday, LA County reported a daily record of 4,244 newly confirmed coronavirus cases and 73 deaths-only three of the records recorded in May.