LOS ANGELES (AP) – Los Angeles County reported on Wednesday another 806 deaths from coronavirus during the winter surge, bringing the number of deaths in California to more than 50,000, or about a tenth of the US total with pandemic.
The county, which has a quarter of the state’s 40 million residents, said the deaths occurred mainly between December 3 and February 3. The Department of Public Health identified them after examining the death records that were accumulated by the sheer volume of the increase. Toll.
“It is moving to report this large number of additional deaths associated with COVID-19 and a devastating reminder of the terrible tribute that the winter wave has caused to so many families across the county,” said Barbara Ferrer, director of health for Los Angeles County in an announcement.
Johns Hopkins University estimates the total number of COVID-19 deaths in California at 50,890.
The dismal number comes days after the United States recorded half a million deaths.
Although the most populous state in the country has the highest number of COVID-19 deaths in the United States, it ranks 25th in the number of cases per capita due to its large population.
The death toll has skyrocketed amid a wave of autumn and winter that has begun to decline as cases and hospitalizations have declined. Los Angeles County reported an additional 136 deaths on Wednesday, accounting for nearly half of the state’s 314 additional deaths.
The state began to reduce more restrictions on businesses after suspending a home stay application about a month ago. Governor Gavin Newsom promised to reopen schools soon, despite opposition from teacher unions.
It took 10 months for the state to reach 25,000 deaths on New Year’s Eve and less than two months for that number to double.
When the state reached the 40,000 death mark on January 30, it had recorded 3,800 deaths in the previous week. In state figures released as of Tuesday, he recorded 2,370 deaths last week.
Because of the lapse of infection to illness, hospitalization and death, the number of deaths fell more slowly than infections. But deaths are expected to continue to decline.
The deaths hit the poor and the Latin and black communities particularly hard. People who work in essential jobs are more exposed to the virus and are more likely to take it home to other people who share crowded rooms.
The death rate among Latinos is 21% higher than that of the state and 7% higher for blacks, according to the state Department of Public Health.
Latinos represent a plurality of the population – 39% – but 55% of cases and 46% of deaths. Blacks represent 6% of the state’s population and account for 4% of cases and 6% of deaths. Whites, by comparison, represent 37% of the population, but only 20% of cases and 32% of deaths.
Case rates are 38% higher in communities where the average annual income is less than $ 40,000.