Two more residents have died from COVID-19, Long Beach officials announced Tuesday. They are the latest local deaths linked to long-term care facilities where a vast majority of the city’s 33 coronavirus fatalities have been concentrated.
The individuals—a man and a woman—were in their 60s and 80s. Both had underlying health conditions, according to health officials.
The city also reported 20 new cases of people testing positive for the virus and the number of people hospitalized grew to 56, the highest number in at least the past few weeks when hospitalizations hovered between about 40 and 50 people on any given day. Health officials have pointed to hospitalization rates as an important benchmark for deciding when to ease stay-at-home orders.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Long Beach now stands at 602. Of that total, at least 355 people have fully recovered, officials noted.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles County officials reported 59 new deaths related to the virus and 597 new confirmed infections.
The latest death toll includes 36 people over 65, 16 people between 18 and 40 years old, and one person between the ages of 18 and 40. A total of 42 people had underlying health conditions.
To date, there have been 20,976 confirmed COVID-19 cases across the county and a total of 1,000 deaths.
“LA County has hit the tragic milestone of 1,000 people dying from COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, director of public health. “With over 400 deaths from COVID-19 occurring among nursing home residents, the pandemic has amplified the cracks in our society, including the care and protection of people who are older and medically fragile.”
Long Beach has seen 27 coronavirus deaths linked to nursing homes or other long-term care facilities.
So far, county officials have investigated 333 institutions with at least one confirmed or suspected COVID-19 case and are working with the state to increase testing at those sites, which include nursing homes, shelters and correctional facilities.
In Long Beach, 16 facilities have seen at least one case each. Seven of those facilities still have active cases, health officials said.