Long Beach will be adding an additional 480 positive coronavirus cases to its city totals after a technical glitch in the state’s data system caused a backlog of up to 300,000 test results across California.
The state has since fixed the glitch and health officials have said not all were coronavirus cases and that some could be duplicates.
In a news conference Monday, Long Beach Health Director Kelly Colopy said the city has identified 1,800 cases from the state backlog, of which 480 were positive. The city is in the process of adding the backlogged cases to its data dashboard, she said.
As of Monday, without the backlogged cases, the city reported 8,879 positive results, including 183 people who have died.
The news comes as Mayor Robert Garcia announced that his stepfather, Greg O’Donnell, 58, died from the virus on Sunday, two weeks after the mayor’s mother, Gabby O’Donnell, died from the illness.
Greg O’Donnell had been on a ventilator for more than a month before he died.
Choking back tears, Colopy pleaded with residents to wear face coverings, maintain social distance and follow health orders.
“These are not hard steps, they are easy to do,” she said. “They are maybe inconvenient, but they are easy.”
In some positive news for residents in local nursing homes, the city on Monday announced that it will begin allowing communal dining and visitors under strict health orders.
Nursing homes have been an epicenter for the virus, accounting for 124 of the city’s 183 deaths as of Monday.
Under the health orders, longterm care facilities that have not had any new COVID-19 cases for at least 14 days may allow communal dining. If the facilities continue to report no new cases for an additional 14 days, they can begin to allow visitors, heath officials said.
Visitors must self-screen for symptoms, including fever, and the facilities must consult with the city before they reopen for visitations.
The city will also resume youth sports under new health guidelines. Adult sports leagues will remain closed under state orders.
The city is expected to release a list of health requirements for youth sports, including requiring that all sports activities take place outdoors and prohibiting competitions between teams.