7:07 p.m. ET, August 17, 2020
Los Angeles County sees decline in new Covid-19 cases: “We’re in fact back to slowing the spread”
From CNN’s Topher-Gauk Roger
Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer
Pool
Los Angeles County is continuing to show progress in the fight to curb the spread of Covid-19, health officials say.
In a Monday news conference, Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer revealed the daily number of hospitalizations have steadily decreased in the last month by 37%, dropping from 2,719 in mid-July to 2,388 in mid-August.
“We do continue to be cautiously optimistic that all the sacrifices and the hard work that we’ve seen across our county is working and that we’re in fact back to slowing the spread,” Ferrer said.
The daily number of reported cases dropped from around 3,200 in mid-July to 2,388 in mid-August, the seven-day average of positive test results dropped from 10% in mid-July to about 6% in mid-August, and the daily number of deaths dropped from a late-July average of 43 to a mid-August average of around 30.
The county is currently meeting five of the six state-enforced benchmarks: More tests per day at 181 (meeting goal of > 150), testing positivity rate at 6% (meeting goal of 20% ), and ventilator availability at 63% (meeting goal of > than 25%).
The one benchmark Los Angeles County is still not meeting, is case rate per 100,000, currently at 235 (not meeting goal of < 100).
Nineteen additional deaths were announced Monday, bringing the county total to 5,273. An additional 1,185 new positive cases were also added Monday, bringing the countywide total to 223,131 confirmed cases.