UPDATE

April 24

The Los Angeles County Dept. Public Health today, April 24, confirmed 52 new deaths in the County bringing the total number of deaths to 848. It reported 1,035 news cases of COVID-19 bringing that total to 18,517 positive cases.

Included in the 18,517 cases are 462 cases in Glendale, 38 cases in La Cañada Flintridge, 59 cases in Sunland, 50 in Tujunga and 74 in Eagle Rock. In the unincorporated areas of LA County-Angeles National Forest has one to four cases and La Crescenta/Montrose has 16 cases.

A new health officer order is being issued for all licensed congregate healthcare facilities. The order includes measures intended to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 in these facilities and to protect vulnerable residents, as well as staff.  The measures include restricting all visitors, suspending all communal dining and activities to ensure physical distancing, screening frequent temperature checks for staff, patients and residents, and testing for all employees and residents. Staff will be required to wear surgical masks at all times and personal protective equipment when appropriate. Residents will also need to wear surgical masks or cloth face coverings when they are outside of their personal room.

As the LA County continues planning for recovery, Public Health has identified four measures that must occur in order to modify provisions in the Safer-at-Home Order and safely reopen certain businesses, institutions and public spaces. When the Safer-at-Home Order is relaxed, people will be around one another more and this will increase the risk and likely the rate of transmission and cases in the county.

Recovery Prerequisites:

1) Ensure hospitals and primary care and specialty services capacity to care for people who are ill and for those who need routine health care.

2) Ensure protections for vulnerable populations – especially the elderly, people with underlying health conditions, residents in institutional settings, people experiencing homelessness, and people with poor access to needed services and supports. This includes making sure that there are enough trained staff and personal protective equipment to appropriately manage care at institutional settings.

3) Ensure capacity for testing, isolating and quarantining individuals and for surveillance to prevent the spread of infection.

4) Ensure capacity to maintain maximum physical distancing and infection control at all spaces and places where people interact with each other outside of their homes.