Another 44 Los Angeles County residents have died due to coronavirus-related causes, officials announced Thursday, June 4, bringing the county’s death toll to 2,531.
There were also 1,469 new cases of COVID-19 reported in LA County. There have been 59,650 infections identified so far throughout the public health crisis.
The jump in cases “reflects a lag in reporting from one lab of over 500 positive cases,” a county statement said.
Of the newly reported deaths, 27 people were over 65, 15 were in the 41-to 65-year-old range, and two were in the 18-to-40 range. Thirty-four of those who most recently died had underlying health conditions.
“To everyone across our LA County community who is mourning a loved one who has passed away from COVID-19, we share in your sorrow,” county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement. “We are thinking of you and praying for you every day.”
The countywide numbers did not include up-to-date statistics from Long Beach and Pasadena, which have their own health departments and report data separately.
Long Beach on Thursday reported one new death and 42 new cases. Overall, 93 Long Beach residents have died from coronavirus- related causes, while the city’s cumulative case count was 2,160 as of Thursday.
Pasadena reported no new deaths on Thursday and 25 new cases. Its death toll remained 83, but the total number of cases citywide grew to 968.
Of every LA County resident who has died at least in part due to COVID-19, about 41% were Latino, 28% were white, 18% were Asian, 12% were African American, and 1% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and residents who identified as another race.
As of Thursday, nearly 659,000 people in LA County had been tested for COVID-19, about about 8% of those people had tested positive.
There were 1,457 people in a hospital with the virus on Thursday; about 30% of these people were in the ICU and 21% were on ventilators.
Thursday’s news came as demonstrations against police brutality continued to pop up countywide; the protests began last week in the wake of the death of George Floyd, a black man in Minnesota who died on Memorial Day after a white police officer kneeled on his neck.
Ferrer said in her Thursday statement that people who participate in those protests should take precautions to avoid contributing to the further spread of COVID-19.
“If you think you may have been exposed to COVID-19 while out and in large crowds, because you were in close contact for at least 15 minutes with people who were not wearing face coverings,” she said, “please remember that the virus has a long incubation period and it will be important to remain away from others as much as possible for 14 days.”
