Governor Gavin Newsom said Monday that the increase in coronavirus cases affecting California was due in part to younger people who might believe they “are invincible” but are still getting sick from COVID-19.
These are younger adults, whom Newsom called “invincible youth,” who are testing positive for the disease, a trend that has become apparent as the economy reopened and working-age adults returned to work and resumed work. social gatherings.
“So many of these younger people may be coming to hospitals, but with needs not as acute as what we were seeing in the past,” Newsom said. In Los Angeles County, working-age adults represent an increasing proportion of the percentage of those who are hospitalized, while older people represent a decreasing share.
Some young people think that “they are invincible but they do not feel that it is going to affect them and if it does, it is not a great burden”.
But Newsom and other experts have warned that increased infection in younger adults may serve as a way for the disease to spread to people with underlying health conditions and to older adults.
That’s why, Newsom said, that he has taken steps to strengthen public health orders, such as ordering many of California’s most populous counties to close bars and indoor restaurant canteens as hospitalizations increase.
While a higher percentage of coronavirus testing is confirming infections, “we are not yet seeing a proportional increase in mortality,” Newsom said. During the past six weeks, California has reported an average coronavirus death of approximately 436 per week since Memorial Day; For the past six weeks, the weekly average death toll was 510, according to an analysis by the Times.
“Those are lagging indicators: hospitalizations, ICUs and deaths,” Newsom said.
Newly infected people can take weeks to get sick enough to be hospitalized, and even longer before dying of the disease.
Experts say it can take three to four weeks after exposure to the virus for infected people to get sick enough to be hospitalized, and four to five weeks after exposure for some of the most vulnerable patients to die. because of the disease.
The same trends are observed for younger adults increasingly infected with coronavirus in Los Angeles County.
By July 4, “nearly 50% of new cases occur among younger people,” who are adults age 40 and younger, said Barbara Ferrer, director of public health for Los Angeles County, Monday. In early April, that age group accounted for only about 30% of new confirmed cases.
Adults ages 18-39 make up about a third of the population of Los Angeles County.
The decrease in deaths in Los Angeles County is in part due to a significant decrease in new deaths among nursing home residents. In May, Los Angeles County reported an average of 25 daily coronavirus deaths among nursing home residents. At the end of June, the average number of daily nursing home deaths was about 10, Ferrer said last week.
Authorities have said that better use of personal protective equipment, such as masks, gowns, and gloves, and increased testing, has helped reduce the effect of the pandemic in nursing homes.
Average daily percentage of COVID-19 cases by age, according to Los Angeles County.
(Los Angeles County)
The age composition of those hospitalized in Los Angeles County has also changed. At the end of April, people over 65 years of age constituted 50% of those hospitalized with COVID-19; middle-aged people between 41 and 64 represented more than 35%; and younger adults made up less than 15% of cases.
Now, it is adults of working age who are seeing their percentage of hospitalizations increase, while the rate of the elderly decreases. By July 4, middle-aged adults accounted for approximately 45% of hospitalizations; older people made up less than 30%; and younger adults accounted for more than 25% of hospitalizations.
COVID-19 hospitalized cases by date of admission by age, according to Los Angeles County.
(Los Angeles County)
There are several reasons why younger adults are becoming increasingly infected, Ferrer said, citing survey results compiled by USC’s Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research.
More Los Angeles County residents are leaving their home. In mid-April, 86% of Los Angeles County residents said they stayed home at all times, except for essential activities or exercise; In the last week of June, only 58% said they were doing it.
The percentage of Los Angeles County residents who stayed home, except for essential activities and exercise until the last week of June.
(Los Angeles County)
More Los Angeles County residents are also having close contact with people outside their home. In mid-April, only 31% of Los Angeles County residents had such close contact with people outside their home; for the last week of June, 55% were doing it.
The percentage of Los Angeles County residents who had close contact with people outside their home as of the end of June.
(Los Angeles County)
However, as the reopening accelerated, fewer Los Angeles County residents report that they are afraid of running out of food due to lack of money or other resources. In early April, 30% of Los Angeles County residents surveyed were concerned about running out of food; That figure has dropped to 11% in the last week of June.
The percentage of Los Angeles County residents was concerned about running out of food due to lack of money in late June.
(LA County)
Additionally, fewer Los Angeles County residents are now reporting psychological distress as the reopening accelerated. In early April, 47% of surveyed county residents reported mild, moderate, or severe symptoms of psychological distress; As the reopening accelerated, 36% reported feeling such symptoms.
The percentage of Los Angeles County residents with symptoms of psychological distress as officials accelerated the reopening of businesses.
(Los Angeles County)
There was also a slight reduction in the percentage of Los Angeles County residents who reported that the pandemic posed a moderate or substantial threat to their household finances; 64% said they did it in mid-May; 56% said they did it in mid-June.
The percentage of Los Angeles County residents who reported on the coronavirus crisis posed a threat to their household finances as of mid-June.
(Los Angeles County)
“This is the good news about openness: it is, in fact, for many people, it provides very important and much-needed relief,” said Ferrer.
But as people have returned to physical workplaces, workplaces have increasingly become places of exposure to the highly contagious virus. While in early May, 37% of surveyed residents of Los Angeles County said their job required them to approach six feet from other people regularly, 43% said they had done so in mid-June.
The percentage of Los Angeles County residents whose jobs require close contact at work as of mid-June.
(Los Angeles County)
More and more Los Angeles County residents are increasingly concerned that California is lifting restrictions on public activity due to the pandemic too quickly, according to the survey. While 75% of respondents expressed concern in early May, 79% did so in mid-June.
The rate at which the coronavirus is tested at California are turning positive has increased 42% in the last two weeks, according to data published in the Los Angeles Times California Coronavirus Tracker. An increasing rate of positive results is an indication that disease transmission is worsening.
Fourth of July marked the fifteenth consecutive day that California recorded a record number of hospitalizations of confirmed coronavirus patients. On Saturday, the state registered 5,669 patients with confirmed coronavirus infections in California hospitals, a 62% increase in the previous two weeks.
On June 27, just a week earlier, the state had reported 4,498 hospitalized patients with confirmed cases of COVID-19. On June 20, the number was 3,494.
The number of intensive care unit patients statewide with confirmed coronavirus infections has increased 63% in the past three weeks. On Saturday, there were 1,711 people with confirmed coronavirus infections in the ICU; the previous Saturday, there were 1,376; the week before that, there were 1,149; and on June 13, there were 1,049.
Newsom said Monday that California is now monitoring 23 counties for overvoltages in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. That’s four more from last week.
Counties on the watch list include: Contra Costa, Colusa, Fresno, Glenn, Imperial, Kern, Kings, Los Angeles, Madera, Marin, Merced, Monterey, Orange, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Joaquin, Santa Barbara, Solano, Stanislaus, Tulare and Ventura.
