L.A. County Experiences Highest New COVID-19 Deaths Reported in Months

Following surging COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in recent weeks, Nov. 24, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health or Public Health has confirmed 51 new deaths and 3,692 new cases of COVID-19. This is the highest number of deaths reported since Sept. 9.

COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to accelerate at alarming speed. There are 1,575 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 26% of these people are in the ICU.  Just two weeks ago, there were 888 people with COVID-19 hospitalized. 

The increases in cases and hospitalizations must slow to avoid overwhelming our hospitals and healthcare staff, and save lives. 

Anytime a person removes their mask and interacts in close distance with others not in their household, even outdoors, they risk either infecting another person with COVID-19 or becoming infected themselves. The longer that interaction, the higher the risk of COVID-19 spread. 

Public Health said it is critical that everyone follow the simple public health safety measures that provide protection from COVID-19 and minimize spreading it to friends and family.

Everyone should stay home as much as possible and limit going out to what is essential for the next two to three weeks to slow the surging cases and save lives. Staying home as much as possible, always wearing face covering securely over your nose and mouth when out and avoiding being near anyone not in your household are the simple actions that slow the spread of COVID-19. Public Health urges residents to connect virtually with friends and family members you do not live with.

Testing results are available for more than 3,600,000 individuals with 10% of all people testing positive. The cumulative positivity rate has increased. The cumulative positivity rate remained 9% over many weeks.

To date, Public Health identified 374,134 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 7,497 deaths. Upon further investigation, 194 cases reported earlier were not L.A. County residents.