Los Angeles residents may have trudged through the Thanksgiving holiday during the Covid-19 pandemic, but Los Angeles Public Health director Dr. Barbara Ferrer said Saturday that the county’s far from in the clear.
During a press briefing, Ferrer confirmed a total of 3,143 new Covid-19 cases and, 19 deaths and 1,951 hospitalizations. The latest count of coronavirus cases may be lower than previous weeks since a number of testing centers county-wide were closed for the Thanksgiving holiday. Ferrer said Angelenos can expect the case count to rise as testing facilities reopen in the upcoming week.
The latest stats come a day after Los Angeles officials enacted another safer-at-home order on Friday. Starting Monday Nov. 30 to December 20., Los Angeles residents should remain at home as much as possible, limiting their exposure to people outside their immediate households when possible.
“If we really care about each other and we care about those essential workers taking risks everyday…we need to not gather with anyone outside our immediate household at least for the immediate future,” Ferrer advised.
Ferrer also announced that various businesses must comply with limited maximum customer capacity policies for the coming weeks. Non-essential services can only open to 20% maximum capacity and essential retail stores to 35% max capacity, making this holiday shopping season a challenge for both customers and employees.
While Angelenos may be tempted to head to shopping centers and celebrate the various upcoming winter holidays, doing so could put many vulnerable family members at risk. She added that failing to abide by official orders and mask and social-distancing ordinances may result in tragic results.
“Dead people don’t get a second chance,” she said.
To date Los Angeles County has identified a total of 390,891 Covid-19 cases and 7,623 deaths related to the coronavirus.
COVID-19 Daily Update:
November 28, 2020
New Cases: 3,143 (390,891 to date)
New Deaths: 19 (7,623 to date)
Current Hospitalizations: 1,951 pic.twitter.com/2OXjuqoTnq— LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) November 28, 2020
High Number of Daily Cases and Hospitalizations is Serious Cause for Concern: New Order Aims to Reduce Risk of Transmission. Public Health Confirms 19 New Deaths and 3,143 New Positive Cases of #COVID19. View https://t.co/5mEexqY2pc for More Information. pic.twitter.com/fyP87oez4E
— LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) November 28, 2020