The sign reminds bus passengers to wear a mask.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Los Angeles County has seen an 18% increase in deaths this year compared to the same period in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Not all deaths in 2020 were associated with COVID-19, but the spike “did not die thousands” without the virus, LA County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said Wednesday. Said it would be interpreted.
According to Feller, the data deny the theory that the virus is as serious as the flu.
The new coronavirus has killed more than 6,000 people in the county. Authorities announced an additional 31 deaths and 2,165 cases on Wednesday, for a total of 260,200 confirmed infections..
In recent weeks, authorities have reported reductions in infections, hospitalizations and deaths. Currently, the number of cases per day is 7 per 100,000, and the average positive rate for 7 days is 3%. This is a significant decrease from the 8% reported in July. These low metrics could advance the county in the state reopening system if held for two consecutive weeks.
However, over the past week, the number of cases has increased slightly, with projected infection rates exceeding 1% to 1.02%. While these numbers may be early indicators of a surge in infections associated with Labor Day weekend activity, Feller said authorities would monitor the data until the end of the week. He said he was assessing whether it was real.
“This week is an important week for us,” she said.
Thousands of test slots remain unfilled in the county. Wildfires, heat, and bad air quality that kept people indoors for weeks could have contributed to the decline, said Dr. Christina Girly, director of health and social welfare. The decline in testing is a concern for the county’s understanding of true infection rates and how the virus is spreading.
In addition, although indicators such as hospitalization are low, they are indicators of delay in understanding the actual range of the virus because there are cases where it surges before hospitalization or death.
For example, in July, the county saw relatively few hospitalizations before the massive surge that followed the July 4 vacation.
“I think we’ve learned a lot,” Ferrer said of how past experience conveys to officials’ current understanding of the virus.
Under the new State-wide guidance released on Tuesday, The county is currently allowed to open indoor operations at nail salons. Health officials are working with the supervisory board to determine what the reopening timeline will look like. Authorities have previously stated that no changes will be made until the end of September, according to possible data on Labor Day weekends.