Racial disparities in COVID-19 cases, deaths ‘devastating’

LOS ANGELES (CNS) — Los Angeles County health and elected officials again highlighted disparities in COVID-19 deaths among black residents Friday and also warned that a recent uptick in transmission rates could result in a lack of sufficient ICU beds in coming weeks if it continues.

Supervisor Hilda Solis began the a Coronavirus news briefing by saying that “unabated and unaccountable police violence” amounts to a second health crisis.

“We’ve seen another public health crisis highlighted. According to the (American) Public Health Association, addressing law enforcement violence should be a public health priority,” Solis said. “The root cause of health inequities, especially during the pandemic, is systemic racism and discrimination.”

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health on Friday announced 36 more deaths due to COVID-19, although one of those fatalities was actually reported Thursday afternoon by Long Beach, which has its own health department. Long Beach announced an additional two deaths Friday afternoon.

The new deaths — which included 12 at skilled nursing facilities — increased the countywide total to 2,567.

The county also announced another 1,445 newly confirmed cases of the virus, while Long Beach added another 23, for a total of 61,068 total cases as of Friday.

“It’s important that we continue to expand our access to testing,” Dr. Barbara Ferrer said. “As long as we are testing a lot of people … we should expect to see our case numbers go up.”

Ferrer said the higher numbers of cases aren’t necessarily bad news, because they allow health care workers to trace contacts and advise those who might otherwise spread the infection to self-isolate. Only about 4.5% of those getting tested are

testing positive, she said.

The percentage of those dying who had underlying health conditions remained high, at 94%, leading Ferrer to caution vulnerable residents to continue to stay home even as more businesses begin to open and to call a doctor at the first sign of symptoms.

The data available on race and ethnicity continued to reveal much higher rates of deaths among black residents and those living in poverty.

While Latino residents represent 41% of total COVID-19 deaths countywide, it is more telling to look at those deaths in context of the overall population. Based on that analysis, the death rate for Latino residents is 29 per 100,000 people, as compared with 31 per 100,000 people for black residents — both much higher than the 15 per 100,000 white residents.

Asians die at a rate of 21 per 100,000, while the numbers for Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders with COVID-19 are dying at a rate of 30 per 100,000 people.

Poverty also pays a significant role.

“We see that people who live in areas with high rates of poverty have almost four times the rate of death for COVID-19,” Ferrer said.

Based on a model that considers how many people would have died if all people of all races and ethnicities were dying at the same rate as those with the lowest rate, public health officials calculated “excess deaths.”

“It paints a very disturbing picture,” Ferrer said. “If the death rate for all groups were the same as it is for white residents, who have the lowest death rate, we would have 754 fewer deaths.”

Of those hypothetical “excess deaths,” 480 represent Latino residents, 143 black lives could have been saved and 125 of disproportionate deaths represent Asian residents.

“These results are absolutely devastating and represent real people whose lives have been lost,” Ferrer said. “They also starkly show how inequities have a life and death consequence.”

She said the county is working hard to increase resources for these under-resourced communities, including expanding testing sites to 73 facilities across the county.

“The very real impact of the injustices plays out every day with the news I share with you and amplifies why racism is a public health issue,” Ferrer said. “The disproportionately higher number of deaths from COVID-19 among black and brown people is an indication of the impact of racism and discrimination on health and well-being.

“It starts at the beginning of life when black babies are three to four more times likely to die before they reach their first birthday and at the very end of life when black residents die, on average, six to 10 years younger than all others,” Ferrer continued. “We must look at the root at the structures, systems and practices in our society to understand the root cause of these inequities.”

As largely peaceful protests against police brutality continued across the Southland, Ferrer again urged people participating in large gatherings of any kind to take steps to avoid infecting others and quarantine themselves if they believe they’ve been exposed.

Anyone who has been in close contact with people not wearing face coverings for at least 15 minutes should isolate themselves for 14 days, she said.

Palmdale continues to report the greatest number of COVID-19 cases in the Valley, with 801, followed by Lancaster with 662.

In the unincorporated communities, Agua Dulce reported one new case, bringing the community’s total to 10. Littlerock/Pearblossom and Sun Village each reported one new case, bringing their totals to 21 cases each.

Totals in the other unincorporated communities remained unchanged. Acton had 11 cases, Agua Dulce reported nine cases, Quartz Hill 46 cases, Desert View Highlands, White Fence Farms and the unincorporated area of North Lancaster remained at six cases each. The unincorporated area of Palmdale reported four cases, while Elizabeth Lake, Leona Valley and Pearblossom/Llano had three cases each.

Anaverde, Del Sur, Littlerock/Juniper Hills and West Antelope Valley remained at two cases each.

Lake Hughes, High Vista, South Antelope Valley and Llano each reported a single case, according to public health officials.

In the Antelope Valley, four care facilities have been reported with at least one confirmed COVID-19 case. Only two registered more.

Antelope Valley Care Center reported two staff members and three patients and no deaths.

Mayflower Gardens Convalescent Hospital reported 14 cases among staff and 24 among residents. The hospital also reported 11 deaths among residents.

Ellison John Transitional Care in Lancaster reported two staff members and one patient tested positive with one patient death.

California State Prison in Lancaster reported no changes with 50 staff and 128 inmates who have tested positive, officials said.

BYD Coach and Bus reported four staff members as confirmed positive and one symptomatic case.

Deaths attributed to COVID-19 in the Antelope Valley numbered 43.

As with confirmed cases, most were in Palmdale and Lancaster, with 17 and 12 deaths, respectively.

The unincorporated community of Quartz Hill reported nine deaths, two were reported in Lake Los Angeles and a single death each in Acton, Del Sur and Desert View Highlands.