Coronavirus deaths in California have soared past 500, capping several days that saw numerous fatalities even as officials voiced guarded optimism about the state’s overall outlook.
Los Angeles County health officials on Wednesday confirmed 29 new coronavirus-linked deaths — the biggest daily jump of the pandemic — bringing the county’s total to 198 as the number of people testing positive for the illness surpassed 7,500.
Of those who died most recently, 17 were older than 65, seven were 41 to 65 years old, and one person was in the 18-40 age bracket. Details about four other deaths were not immediately known. At least 22 of those who died had underlying health conditions, Ferrer said.
Deaths in California as of Thursday
(Los Angeles Times)
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County Public Health Department Director Barbara Ferrer said the mortality rate for the virus in the county had risen to 2.6%.
In San Diego County, officials reported 12 death on Tuesday, the highest daily count ever. They reported five more Wednesday, bringing the total to 36.
Gov. Gavin Newsom expressed concern about the death toll, saying Wednesday: “Sadly, we had one of our highest death rates in the state.”
Here is a breakdown from the Los Angeles Times coronavirus tracker:
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Los Angeles County 200
Santa Clara County 46
San Diego County 36
Riverside County 32
Sacramento County 22
San Mateo County 21
San Bernardino County 20
Orange County 17
Alameda County 16
San Francisco County 10
Still, California has not seen the death toll of virus hot spots such as New York, where more than 4,000 have died. And while the virus continues to spread rapidly in some places, including Los Angeles County, there are signs that its rate of growth could be slowing in parts of the Bay Area.
Newsom repeated Wednesday that the duration of the coronavirus stay-at-home order was dependent on whether Californians continued to follow it and wear appropriate face coverings if they went out.
The governor said the state planned to expand testing — including serology tests, which use a blood sample to check whether a person has developed antibodies to the virus, and community surveillance testing — to better understand when “we get back to a new normalcy.”
“We have a team of people working on this 24/7,” Newsom said. “There’s no question on this that we haven’t asked ourselves on dozens and dozens of occasions. Everybody, not least of which myself as governor of the state of California, wants us to be able to affirmatively answer that question by giving you a specific date and time and in detail telling you how people are going to go back to work, back into their community.”
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has announced an order requiring all residents to wear a face covering when visiting the majority of essential businesses in hopes that it will protect workers and slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Effective Friday, residents must wear a mask, bandanna or other type of covering over their noses and mouths when in grocery stores, pharmacies, hardware stores, coin-operated laundry services, restaurants, hotels, taxis, ride-hail vehicles and several other essential businesses. Workers must also wear masks.
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San Bernardino and Riverside counties also have mandatory mask orders.
Officials are stepping up social distancing rules for the Easter weekend.
All public parks in Los Angeles County will be closed Easter Sunday to help contain the coronavirus, Garcetti announced at a Wednesday evening news conference.
City and county beaches and trailheads have already been closed to visitors, but from Saturday night through Monday morning, that closure will be expanded to hundreds of parks encompassing tens of thousands of acres of land in Southern California where Angelenos have traditionally gathered for Easter celebrations.
“I know your heart breaks. … This is such a great tradition for the many families we have,” Garcetti said. “But we can’t afford to have one cluster of even just a few people together spread this disease to more people and kill them.”
