California is approaching another milestone for the coronavirus: 9,000 deaths after a large increase in infections.
The increasing number of deaths comes as officials try to curb outbreaks across the state that followed the reopening of the economy in late May and early June.
As of Thursday, California had recorded at least 8,913 deaths and at least 485,831 cases. Los Angeles County now has a cumulative number of coronavirus deaths of at least 4,518 and at least 183,456 confirmed cases.
The Golden State set single-day records twice this week for the number of coronavirus-related deaths. On consecutive days, California broke its daily record, with 174 deaths on Tuesday and 189 deaths on Wednesday. Los Angeles County confirmed a record 91 deaths in a single day on Wednesday, attributing the high number to a backlog of data from July 23 to Sunday.
Los Angeles County Health Officer Dr. Muntu Davis underscored the need for businesses to comply with county health orders Thursday during a press conference Thursday afternoon. That includes reporting any outbreak of three or more cases of the virus to the county and alerting all workers who may have been exposed to a person with a known case, he said.
“Companies have a corporate and moral responsibility to their employees,” said Davis.
The county is currently investigating the deaths of two former Mission Foods Corp. employees in Commerce. Mission Foods was one of three food businesses the county closed this week after more than 40 employees tested positive. All three companies have since reopened. Davis said the Mission’s two employees were believed to have COVID-19 at the time of their death.
None of the businesses that closed this week contacted the county about the initial cases, Davis said. Instead, officials were alerted through anonymous complaints.
The Department of Public Health is currently investigating more than 1,000 outbreaks of the virus and is receiving 2,000 to 3,000 weekly business complaints. Davis encouraged residents to submit information about businesses that may be violating the health order.
“I encourage all members of the public to report suspected outbreaks,” said Davis. “The actions of individual companies and communities have an effect on each and every one of us.”
The health official also implored houses of worship to host only outdoor services and refrain from holding indoor events, instructions ordered in the county health order that went into effect in mid-July. In late May, the state and county allowed mass gatherings of religious worship and political protest. In the time since then, indoor gatherings have been banned across the county and across much of the state, as the spread of the virus poses a greater threat indoors.
Los Angeles County officials reiterated on Wednesday that it is essential that the public follow social distancing rules and wear masks in public to curb the spread.
“I know we are all anxious and anxious to see our lives return to normal,” said Los Angeles County Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer. “We have the tools available to make this a reality in the future. But we need to comply with our directives. “
Health officials say more careful public social behavior, along with newly reissued restrictions on public life, has led to a recent decline in some numbers, including hospitalizations, the seven-day average for positive infections, and the projected transmission rate. But more cases and deaths continue to be reported every day.
“When we let our guard down, the virus spreads,” said county health services director Dr. Christina Ghaly.
In the San Joaquin Valley, an eight-county region of the Central Valley that stretches from Stockton to Bakersfield, pandemic conditions have deteriorated dramatically. In the weeklong period that ended Memorial Day, 42 residents died from COVID-19; In the seven-day period ending Monday, 105 residents had died.
Deaths are also increasing in the Sacramento seven-county region. During the same period, weekly deaths increased from four to 25.
The nine-county San Francisco Bay Area has seen its weekly death toll nearly triple in the same time period: 20 to 57; The number of weekly deaths in San Diego County nearly doubled in the same time period, from 28 to 55.
The five-county area of Southern California, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties, has seen weekly deaths increase from 357 to 493 in that same period, a 38% increase.
There are some signs that California’s most recent increase, while continuing to grow, has begun to slow. For the week ending Tuesday, the state recorded an average of 9,157 new confirmed cases daily, a 2% increase from the previous week. That’s a much slower increase than what happened in the week ending July 14, when the daily average of new cases was 8,902, a 20% jump from the previous week.
Additionally, the rate at which coronavirus tests return positive has been stable in recent weeks across the state. A Times analysis found that California’s seven-day positive coronavirus test rate has generally been between 7% and 8% since July 5. In addition, the effective rate of coronavirus transmission across the state is Dear be 1.02, which means that each infected person, on average, transmits the virus to another 1.02 people.
