AS California proceeds with its stages of reopening, Los Angeles County remains the hardest-hit area in the state as it surpassed the 75,000 mark of confirmed coronavirus cases on Tuesday, June 17.
County officials announced 1,337 additional cases of COVID-19 and 33 new deaths, bringing the total to 75,084 positive cases and 2,959 deaths.
This comes as the county has allowed the reopening of various industries in recent weeks, including hair salons, restaurants and places of worship. Most recently, most recently, gyms and fitness facilities, museums, and music, film and television production opened their doors once again.
The latest deaths include 24 individuals over the age of 65, 20 of whom had underlying health conditions, and eight people between the ages of 41 and 65 years old who all had underlying health conditions. One person was between the ages of 18 and 40 years old.
Of those who have died, race and ethnicity information is available for 99% of cases, including 17% of whom were of Asian descent.
Based on the current data, 1,288 people are currently hospitalized — 31% of whom are in the ICU and 25% are on ventilators.
During a press conference on Monday, June 15, Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of the state Health and Human Services, said that several counties continue to show a concerning uptick in cases. These counties include Los Angeles, Fresno, Imperial, Kern, Kings, San Joaquin and Tulare.
Statewide, a total of 153,560 cases and 5,121 fatalities have been reported, as of press time.
The next phase of reopenings includes nail salons, and tattoo and massage parlors starting Friday, June 19 in counties approved by state health officials.
State guidance for nail salons includes workers wearing face shields and googles, recommendations to put partitions between workers and customers, and throwing away supplies like nail files and buffers after each use.
“Local health officials should decide when the sectors covered by the guidance can resume operations following their review of local epidemiological data including cases per 100,000 populations, rate of test positivity, and local preparedness to support a health care surge, vulnerable populations, contact tracing and testing,” read a news release issued by the state Department of Public Health.
However, LA County officials have not announced when such services will be allowed to proceed yet.
