The Los Angeles County Dept. of Public Health (Public Health) has confirmed two new deaths and 881 new cases of confirmed COVID-19. The low number of new deaths and new cases reported today, Monday, Oct. 12 reflect a reporting lag from over the weekend.

COVID-19 continues to spread and remains easily spread among people who are in close contact with an infected person. Those in a crowd with non-household members, especially if people weren’t wearing face coverings and were shouting, chanting, and/or singing may have been exposed to COVID-19 if an infected person was also there. People can pass the virus to others even before they know they have it.

It is very important that people stay away from others, especially those at greater risk of becoming seriously ill from COVID-19, and monitor themselves for symptoms of COVID-19 for 14 full days. This is essential to prevent them from unintentionally spreading COVID-19 to others.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, masks are strongly encouraged in settings where people might raise their voices, such as shouting, chanting, or singing. When someone raises their voice, their respiratory droplets, which carry the virus, spread farther.

Public Health encourages people to get tested if they have been in a crowd or gathering where people were close together and not wearing face coverings and/or not keeping their distance. By finding out they are positive, even if they have no symptoms yet, gives them a chance to quickly take steps to prevent their family, friends or coworkers from becoming infected.

To date, Public Health has identified 282,982 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of LA County and a total of 6,773 deaths. Upon further investigation, 34 cases reported earlier were not LA County residents.

“We wish healing and peace to the families and friends that are grieving the loss of their loved one to COVD-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, director of Public Health. “Today we celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day to honor the history, cultures, and contributions of American Indians and Alaska Natives. COVID-19 has amplified a history of unequal access to health care and healthy environments, which has led to a history of disproportionality in health outcomes. Currently, American Indian and Alaska Native people face a disproportionate case rate of 1,117 cases per 100,000 people. As we observe Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we ask everyone to be caring neighbors and limit COVID-19 spread by practicing physical distancing, wearing a face covering, and washing your hands frequently.”

Ninety-three percent of the people who died from COVID-19 had underlying health conditions. Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 6,378 people (99% of the cases reported by Public Health).

The City of Glendale reports 1,297 cases, the City of La Cañada Flintridge reports 186 cases, Los Angeles – Angeles National Forest reports 2 cases, Sunland reports 497 cases, Tujunga reports 564 cases, the unincorporated portion of Los Angeles County – Angeles National Forest reports 6 cases, and the the unincorporated portion of Los Angeles County – La Crescenta-Montrose reports 215 cases.

Of the two new deaths reported today, one person who passed away was between the ages of 65 and 79 years old and one person who died was between the ages of 50 and 64. Both people who died had underlying health conditions.

There are 693 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 and 26% of these people are in the ICU. Testing results are available for more than 2,826,000 individuals with 9% of all people testing positive.

The Reopening Protocols, COVID-19 Data Dashboard, Recovery Metrics, Recovery Dashboard, and additional things people can do to protect themselves and their families are on the Public Health website www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.