25 New Deaths and 1,344 New Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

LOS ANGELES, Calif. Nov 12 – The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) provides a year over year snapshot as the County heads into the winter. Looking back a year ago, much has changed, while at the same time, some things remain the same.

Last year in November, the County reported daily deaths in the low 20’s. Today, Public Health confirms 25 new deaths and 1,344 new cases of COVID-19. Of the 25 new deaths reported today, 11 people who passed away were over the age of 80, eight people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, four people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, and two people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49.

A year ago, about 7,200 people had lost their lives to the virus – today, that number has tragically increased by nearly 20,000. To date, Public Health has identified a total of 26,838 deaths and 1,509,073 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County.

There are 633 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 27% of these people are in the ICU. Last year at this time, there were over 900 patients each day receiving care for COVID-19 infections at hospitals.

Testing results are available for more than 9,222,000 individuals, with 15% of people testing positive. Today’s test positivity rate is 1.0%, a dramatic decrease from last November 11 test positivity of 5.6%. While overall, it is clear the County is in better shape this November than we were last fall, the similar numbers for deaths is a reminder of the destructive power of this virus, and the relatively high numbers of cases and hospitalizations, a reflection of the dominance of the more infectious Delta variant.

Public Health continues to track both staff and student cases at schools. Last week, there were 500 student cases and more than 2,600 student close contacts at schools. Among staff, we saw about 101 cases and 173 close contacts. These case numbers represent a 53% decline in student cases and a 48% decline in staff cases from the prior week. This amounts to a test positivity of 0.2% among students and staff being tested, with 0.2% identified as close contacts.

There were two outbreaks the week ending November 6: one in an elementary school and one in a youth sports program. With more than 3,000 TK-12 schools in L.A. County, this is a remarkably low number of outbreaks. Although we expect to continue to see outbreaks, we also expect that as confidence in vaccination safety for children increases – and with it, rising vaccination levels in school-aged children, we will eventually blunt outbreaks substantially.

Out of nearly 10.3 million L.A. County residents, including those who are not eligible for the vaccine, 70% have received at least one dose, and 63% are fully vaccinated. As of November 9, nearly 25,500 children aged 5 to 11 years old, nearly 3% of eligible residents in this age group, received their first doses of vaccines. More than 865,000 additional or booster doses have been administered in L.A. County.

“To everyone who is grieving the loss of a family member or friend to this virus, please know that our hearts are broken for you, and we share with you our hope for your comfort and peace,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “As we enter this cold weather season, we have many tools available to us that were either unavailable or much less available at the same time last year. For starters, vaccination is now available at no charge for all L.A. County residents five years and up, meaning that more than 9.7 million residents (95% of L.A. County) can now get vaccinated. As a result of widespread vaccine availability, more people are getting protected each day from both catching and spreading COVID-19. Additionally, with boosters enabling us to refresh immunity for so many adults, the protection vaccines offer is now more durable for all vaccine recipients. The single most important thing we can do as a community to reduce our risk of another surge is to decrease our numbers of unvaccinated people; this means that our collective priority remains helping unvaccinated people, including children, get their first doses of vaccine countywide.”

Public Health encourages everyone to prepare for the winter. There are strategies everyone can use to reduce transmission as the weather cools. Please help everyone 5 years and up in your family and your social circle get vaccinated – and, if it is your time, please make sure you and others you know who were vaccinated a while back return for a booster dose. Many adults 18 and over are now eligible for booster doses, and here in California and the County, boosters are available for all adults 6 months out from receiving their second dose of Pfizer or Moderna, or 2 months out from receiving Johnson & Johnson. Getting boosted before the holidays is important, particularly if gathering with others or traveling.

Get tested before gathering with people who are at high risk for bad outcomes of a COVID infection, such as elderly people, immunocompromised people, or people who have not yet been vaccinated. And given how significant transmission is across the county, when gathering in crowded places, especially indoors, be extra sure to wear a mask when you aren’t eating or drinking.

As of November 12, California has confirmed a total of 4,719,596 COVID-19 cases and 72,288 deaths.