15 New COVID-19 Infections Reported in Pasadena; Median Age of Infections Falls to 47

Fifteen new cases of the novel coronavirus were reported in Pasadena on Monday, where the spread of the virus continues to impact more patients below 50.

The pandemic saw its strongest foothold among senior citizens in its early weeks, but for more than a month, public health officials in Pasadena and county-wide have noted an increased spread among patients under 40 years old.

“The median age has decreased to 47 years old,” Pasadena city spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said.

No new deaths were reported in the city.

Pasadena has recorded 2,127 COVID-19 infections and 111 deaths since the start of the pandemic, city data shows.

Following problems in the state’s electronic laboratory reporting system that were announced last week and had resulted in potential undercounts dating back two weeks prior, health officials in Pasadena have been working with local medical providers to take their own independent case count, Derderian said.

While the Pasadena Health Department resumed receiving data from the state’s system over the weekend, “we made several aggressive moves to ensure we would not miss any cases, including reaching out to our providers directly to report any confirmed cases,” she said.

“Many of our local providers, including Huntington Hospital, responded same-day with their case reports,” Derderian said. “We are extremely grateful for the commitment of our local providers to provide us with real-time case information.”

She added that Pasadena health officials planned to continue in that manner “until we are sure the electronic lab system is fully up and running.”

Thirty-four COVID-19 patients were being treated at Huntington Hospital as of Monday, according to hospital data. Twenty-six tests were pending.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported 1,920 new infections and 19 new deaths on Monday, although officials said a backlog in case counting is yet to be sorted out.

“Today’s numbers do not include backlog numbers; the State has indicated that the backlog of lab reports for L.A County from the State electronic laboratory system (ELR) should be sent shortly,” the agency said in a written statement. Hospitalization rates and deaths were not affected by the glitch, however, and officials said those indicators were showing signs of “stability.”

The county had seen 210,424 COVID-19 infections and 4,996 fatalities, in all, as of Monday.

Officials said 1.514 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized in L.A. County, with 31% of them being treated in intensive care units.

“This is significant progress in the number of confirmed cases currently hospitalized daily,” according to the county statement. “Nearly a month ago the County was averaging about 2,040 daily hospitalizations. Towards the middle of July, this number was up to 2,200 daily hospitalizations.”

The county’s overall positivity rate remained at 10%, with more than 1.95 million tests administered, officials said.

The positivity rate in recent days dropped to 7.3% in L.A. County, although public health officials said it was yet to be determined whether the ongoing backlog issue was affecting the number significantly.

L.A. County Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer said the indicators were encouraging, but much work lies ahead before life can begin to resemble normalcy again.

“I want to thank our residents, individuals and business owners, for working really hard to get back to slowing the spread of this virus,” she said. “We must continue on this path and build our new normal so that we can reopen our schools for in-person learning. We need to make progress so that more of our neighbors can get back to work. Please continue to wear your face coverings, avoid crowds and gathering with people that you don’t live with, practice physical distancing, and continue staying home as much as you can. This is all helping and making a difference.”

At the state level, the California Department of Public Health reported 7,751 new infections and 66 additional deaths on Monday, bringing the state’s totals to 561,911 COVID-19 cases and 10,359 deaths.

The data problem announced last week appears to have been corrected, state officials said.

“The issue with the state’s electronic laboratory reporting system has been addressed and the system has performed as expected,” the CDPH said in a written statement. “Progress continues to be made on addressing the backlog reported on Friday.”

Based on the data available, Los Angeles County accounted for 37% of all the COVID-19 cases reported in California, and 48% of all the state’s deaths.