As Los Angeles County health officials reported more than 5,000 total deaths from from COVID-19, officials said two more young people in the county have died from the disease, including one in Long Beach—a man in his 40s with underlying health conditions.
The man’s death follows officials’ repeated warnings that more young people are getting severely sick and dying of the disease.
“LA County has hit a tragic milestone today,” said Barbara Ferrer, Director of Public Health. “One of the deaths we are reporting today is of a young adult under the age of 29. This is a reminder that the risk for all of us is real and that no matter how young you are, this virus can be deadly.”
City officials reported 331 new cases from Monday, making a total of 9,210 cases in the city. The total includes the more than 400 new cases that were found in the state’s reporting backlog, they said.
Countywide, officials reported 1,440 new cases of COVID-19 from yesterday. The number is lower because it does not include cases from one of the larger labs in the county. It also does not include the backlogged numbers from the state’s reporting system. The state should have the complete number for LA County this week, officials said.
Despite the rise in cases, hospitalizations continue to fall in the city and county. About 79 Long Beach residents were reported to be hospitalized as of today, according to city officials. That number has been falling for the last two weeks. County officials reported 1,524 people hospitalized with COVID-19 and 32% of these people are in the ICU. This is a large difference from a month ago when daily hospitalizations were over 2,000 patients.
Meanwhile, deaths from COVID-19 in LA County have hit 5,057. In Long Beach, officials reported a total of 184 deaths from the disease, with the latest being the man in his 40s who was not associated with a long-term care facility.
Like many other health officials, Ferrer pleaded with the public to take steps to prevent the virus from spreading and hurting others: practicing physical distancing, wearing face coverings, washing hands and avoiding gathering with people you don’t live with.