COVID-19 by the Numbers

In a statement issued last week, the Los Angeles County Public Health Department reported that 1,200 pregnant women tested positive for the coronavirus and 79 percent of those women were symptomatic.

Two women who were pregnant died from COVID-19, health officials reported.

Among the 193 infants that were tested for COVID-19 at birth, eight tested positive for the virus, and 185 tested negative, Public Health officials said.

Authorities urge pregnant women and new mothers to take extra care to avoid being infected. Expecting and new moms should stay at home as much as possible. If they must go outside, they should wear a cloth face covering, keep physical distance from anyone who is not from their household, and wash hands frequently.

If a woman is sick or positive for COVID-19 and breastfeeding, they should wear a mask while breastfeeding or while bottle feeding, and wash their hands before touching the baby or any pump or bottle before using. If possible, ask someone else to feed the baby your breast milk by bottle.

More detailed guidance for expecting and new moms can be found online.

Public Health also continues to survey skilled nursing facilities in the county on their compliance with mandated COVID-19 testing and on COVID-19 cases and outbreaks. Last week, county health officials stated all of the county’s 341 skilled nursing facilities responded and provided information about testing and new cases for the week of Aug. 9.

From Aug. 9 through Aug. 15, testing was completed on 12,793 nursing home residents and for 21,581 staff.

Out of the 341 facilities, 190 were classified as having an outbreak, and of these skilled nursing facilities, 123 did not report any additional cases. One hundred and fifty-one facilities were classified as not having an outbreak, and 130 of these did not report any positive test results from this round of testing. The 21 skilled nursing facilities that reported one or more positive cases are required to test all their residents and staff to control any outbreak.

County Public Health also continues tracking the number of positive cases and deaths among health care workers related to the COVID-19 pandemic response. There have been a total of 83 deaths and a total of 13,626 positive cases among health care workers and first responders in Los Angeles County.

Nurses continue to account for the majority of deaths among health care workers at 42 percent. Skilled nursing and assisted living facilities account for one-third of the health care workers who have tested positive for the virus and hospitals account for 26 percent.

Ninety-two 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 5,330 people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health); 50 percent of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 24 percent among White residents, 15 percent among Asian residents, 10 percent among African American/Black residents, less than 1 percent among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander residents and 1 percent among residents identifying with other races.