9 New Deaths, 255 New Positive Cases – Deadline

On Saturday, the L.A. County Department of Public Health reported 9 new deaths from Covid-19 and 255 new positive cases.

While data showed that transmission rates remains low in the County, case numbers and deaths announced today may reflect delays in weekend reporting.

Today’s data brings L.A. County to a total of 24,439 deaths from the coronavirus, and 1,247,361 confirmed cases.

Public Health Tracking COVID-19 Variants Including the More Contagious and Potent Delta Variant; Reports 9 New Deaths and 255 New Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County. Click https://t.co/XDpuHWWryx for More Information. pic.twitter.com/ceX8n1Axhy

— LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) June 19, 2021

At time of reporting, 219 County residents are hospitalized with Covid-19. 20% of them are in the ICU. Test results have now been made available to more than 6,944,000 people, with 17% of them testing positive.

Two of the people whose deaths were reported today were over the age of 80. One person who died was between the ages of 65 and 79, while six were between the ages of 50 and 64.

Today, Public Health noted that it is continuing to track the spread of Covid variants within L.A. County. The Department is particularly concerned about Delta variants (formerly known as Indian variants) which appear even more transmissible than other highly contagious variants. They first began noticing cases of the Delta variant (and related Kappa variants) in April. While cases of Delta-variant Covid infection initially appeared in small numbers, 64 have now been identified, most of which were detected in the County in recent weeks.

The good news, though, is that Covid-19 vaccines continue to be widely available. “The science and the data are clear, vaccines are the best way to protect yourself against COVID-19 and the Delta variant…After 16 months of enormous upheaval and loss in our County, we can now share a genuine sense of hope,” said Public Health director Barbara Ferrer. “I want to encourage everyone to get vaccinated as soon as you are able.”

On June 15, L.A. County joined the state of California, in its transition to a full reopening. At present, workplaces remain under Cal/OSHA standards, which allow most fully vaccinated employees to stop wearing masks. Masks are still required, though, for workers in public transit and at transportation hubs, as well as at K-12 schools, child care sites, children’s camps, youth serving programs, health care facilities, state and local correctional and detention facilities, and emergency and homeless shelters.