News

This week is something special.

First, thanks to CMA’s Mike Steenburgh and his team, we will have five PPE events starting with the Rose Bowl today from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm for those physicians who registered. We will have events across the county as we help more than 3,000 physicians with much-needed PPEs which include N95 masks, shields, gowns, gloves and sanitizers.

On Thursday, thanks to the leadership of Dr. Hector Flores, our Patient Care Foundation, will participate in a COVID-19 testing program in Boyle Heights. Hyundai Motor Corporation’s Hope on Wheels and the Consul General of Israel also contributed to make the event a reality for many low-income families over the next two weeks.

I wanted to thank our staff, Lisa Le, Vitelio Aguilar and Sheila Hoyer for their hard work to make the week a success for both physicians in private practice and those who need COVID-19 testing.

We are seeking volunteers for Friday, July 31st PPE event. Share with someone who may be interested in volunteering for our last event of the week.

To underscore the ongoing need to protect the long-term health and well-being of residents and the workforce as we move forward in the recovery journey, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) introduces and underscores a new set of three Cs: Compliance, Containment, and Collaboration.

Compliance: Businesses must comply with Health Officer Orders and implement the strict infection control practices and distancing guidelines in place to protect the workforce and the public. Residents must continue to wear face coverings, maintain physical distancing, avoid gathering with people they don’t live with and continue washing their hands and cleaning high- touch surfaces.

Containment: Adequate testing and case investigations are critical tools to contain spread. The Department of Health Services has announced testing capacity has expanded to over 65% to serve communities hardest hit by COVID-19 that experience racial and economic disparities. Case interviews and contact tracing of people who are positive or exposed are isolating and quarantining must continue. Businesses and employers must also do their part and alert the department to outbreaks at their work sites.

Collaboration: Collaborating across all sectors and government is imperative to ensure clear messages to the public, uninterrupted supply chains for testing supplies and personal protective equipment, and unity in strategies for re-opening with as much safety as possible.

Today, Public Health has confirmed 17 new deaths and 2,039 new cases of COVID-19. Public Health anticipates receiving a backlog of cases in the coming days.

Since May, the majority of cases have occurred among people between the ages of 18 and 49 years old. People between the ages of 30 and 49 year old account for the largest proportion of cases and roughly the same proportion of cases as seen since May. Other age groups are flat or decreasing slightly.

Public Health is reporting 2,017 confirmed cases currently hospitalized and 29% of these people are confirmed cases in the ICU. There are a total of 2,552 confirmed and suspect cases that are currently hospitalized and 18% of these people are on ventilators. The hospitalization data is incomplete due to data from five non-reporting hospitals not being part of today's update.

Testing results are available for nearly 1,649,000 individuals with 10% of all people testing positive.