Healthcare workers heavily impacted by virus

Among the groups of workers that have been heavily impacted by COVID-19, are healthcare workers.

According to Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer, almost 15,000 healthcare workers have tested positive for the virus. Spikes in cases among the group were seen in March and April.

However, as more learned about the virus and personal protective equipment (PPE) became more readily available to those in the healthcare field, the number of infected decreased. Ferrer said there was another spike among this group in July, but once again, the number of cases has decreased. On Monday, part of her presentation focused on healthcare workers. She said 68% of healthcare workers are women, 30% are men and 2% identify with another gender, or the gender was not cited, when collecting data of those who have tested positive for COVID.

Women also make up 3/4 of the full-time healthcare workers. To date, a total of 89 healthcare workers have died from COVID-19, the majority in late April and early May.

“We want to thank all the

healthcare workers across Los Angeles County,” Ferrer said. “You’re truly among the heroes of this pandemic. You’ve been at the front lines, courageously battling and treating patients from the very beginning of this pandemic, even when there was so little we knew about the virus.”

She also reported an additional 16 deaths. Of those, eight were over the age of 80 and all had underlying health conditions; four were between 65 and 79 and two had underlying health conditions; two were between 50 and 64 and neither had underlying health conditions; two were between 30-49 and one had underlying health conditions. That brings the total number of deaths in Los Angeles County to 6,366.

“We wish you all healing and peace at this very difficult time,” Ferrer said to those who lost friends and loved ones to the virus.

She also reported 652 new cases, bringing that total to 261,446 in Los Angeles County, to include 11,503 in Long Beach and 2,522 in Pasadena.

There are currently 749 confirmed cases that are hospitalized, with 28% in ICU and 16% on ventilators.

So far, 2.5 million in Los Angeles County have been tested and 10% are positive.

Ferrer said the daily positivity rate has been slowly decreasing for the past six weeks, but the effects of the Labor Day weekend will not be known until the end of this week.

Here are the latest number of cases and deaths in the Antelope Valley:

*Lancaster: 3,270 cases and 51 deaths

Palmdale: 3,991 cases and 69 deaths

Acton: 67 cases, two deaths Agua Dulce: 26 cases and no deaths

Desert View Highlands: 45 cases, one death

Lake Hughes: Three cases, no deaths

Lake Los Angeles: 222 cases and four deaths

Leona Valley: 18 cases and no deaths

Littlerock: 84 cases and no deaths

Littlerock/Juniper Hills: Nine cases and no deaths

Littlerock/Pearblossom: 89 cases and no deaths

Llano: Three cases and no deaths

Pearblossom/Llano: 24 cases and one death

Quartz Hill: 171 cases and 11 deaths

Kern County: California City: 114 cases, 58 recovered, five presumed recovered

Edwards: 17, nine recovered, two presumed recovered

Rosamond: 253 cases, 118 recovered, 19 presumed recovered

Tehachapi: 1,108 cases, 612 recovered, 21 presumed recovered

*These numbers include cases associated with correctional facility outbreaks.