L.A. County officials today reported 1,638 new cases of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, bringing the countywide total to 27,817.
Health officials also reported another 58 deaths of COVID-19 patients, bringing the death toll to 1,313. The high number of new cases was being attributed to a "lag in data" from over the weekend, Dr. Barbara Ferrer, the head of the county's Department of Public Health, said.
Dr. Ferrer also reported that 647 people who lived in institutional settings, such as nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities, have died from the virus. Those deaths account for for 49% of all deaths from the coronavirus.
"The majority of people who passed away in institutional settings lived in our skilled nursing facilities," Dr. Barbara Ferrer, the county's health director, said. "This is an alarming rate."
As the state prepares to lift certain restrictions on the lockdown order, health officials described L.A. County's approach to reopening as a "slow journey together." Health officials say they plan to reveal plans later this week on the road to reopening because as more people go out, deaths from COVID-19 will increase.
The number of confirmed cases around Southern California include:
- Los Angeles County: 27,815 cases - 1,313 deaths
- Orange County: 2,873 cases - 61 deaths
- Riverside County: 4,354 cases - 181 deaths
- Ventura County: 577 cases - 19 deaths
- San Bernardino County: 2,182 cases - 97 deaths
- San Diego County: 4,020 cases - 144 deaths
Statewide, there are more than 56,307 cases with at least 2,296 deaths reported. According to data collected by Johns Hopkins University, there are more than 1,193,027 cases nationwide with the death toll reaching 70,110 by Tuesday afternoon.