Far-reaching effects

Los Angeles County announces 9 additional deaths, 1,216 total confirmed cases of COVID-19

Los Angeles County Public Health officials announced Thursday that 421 new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed countywide in the last 48 hours, as well as nine new deaths in the last 24 hours.

The Thursday afternoon update brings the total number of deaths in L.A. County to 21 and the total number of confirmed cases to 1,216. That total does not mean there aren’t more cases than that in the county — it only represents the number of confirmed cases.

“We have many more positive cases, and with more positive cases, we continue to have more deaths,” said Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer.

The total number of cases includes 41 confirmed cases in Long Beach and nine in Pasadena, Ferrer said.

“The increase is

primarily attributed to large increases in testing,” said Ferrer. “There’s more testing, and we’re also catching up on backlogs and getting testing results that have been delayed.”

A total of 9,400 people have been

tested in L.A. County, and 10% are returning with positive results, Ferrer said.

The individual under the age of 18 from Lancaster who was initially reported as someone who died due to COVID-19 is no longer a part of the official count due to the CDC now conducting an investigation into that death, she added.

A second previously reported death is no longer being counted in the Los Angeles County total because the individual was a resident of another county.

Officials said during the news conference on Thursday that there were no gaps in the equipment being facilitated to treat the disease in Los Angeles County.