Why so many covid 19 cases and deaths in LA County (Los Angeles: condos, houses)

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by JohnG72

Now I REALLY want to know how many cases in homes where one or more residents works in an elder care facility.

It doesn't seem as if they've yet broken down the number of infected workers vs residents in these nursing homes.

People can also transmit the coronavirus days before they show signs of sickness. This is what scientists call “presymptomatic transmission.”

Of 402 residents and workers testing positive for the coronavirus at Los Angeles County nursing homes, 345 had no symptoms of illness, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said last week. In other words, 86% of people testing positive at scores of skilled nursing facilities across the nation’s most populous counties had no symptoms of the disease when they were tested.

An editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine in late April called asymptomatic transmission “the Achilles’ heel of COVID-19 pandemic control through the public health strategies we have currently deployed.”

https://www.latimes.com/california/s...at-still-looms

[Bunjee]

Originally Posted by JohnG72

I’m not sure I’m onto something here or not.

IF, and I mean IF there’s some greater degree of elder care facilities in LA County...and if the jobs in those places are low in pay and if it’s mostly latinos working in those facilities...

The virus seems to spread most easily amoung people living together.

Considering that housing in LA is very expensive AND that lower income latinos are more likely to reside with multiple extended family members, is it not possible that much of the CV spread in LA County is limited to elder care facilities AND households containing employees of such facilities?

Again, I have seen no evidence of the second part of this...that is, the households of employees of care facilities. But there’s been little else in the way of plausible explanation of why LA County has so many more infections and deaths than elsewhere in CA.

You may be onto something:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local...6e5_story.html

[CA4Now]

California's health department is overruling L.A. County's more relaxed policy about coronavirus testing in skilled nursing facilities.

Nearly a thousand (residents in elder care homes) have died in LA County alone, accounting for about half of the COVID-19 deaths in the county.

...in late April, as the COVID-19 death toll approached 300 in L.A. County nursing homes — a relatively modest toll compared to where it stands now — Los Angeles County health director Barbara Ferrer announced an aggressive new plan to test everyone inside nursing homes in an effort to turn the grim tide.

The move was necessary because it had become clear the virus was spread by people who had no symptoms, Ferrer said....

She also noted that of the 30 healthcare workers who have died of COVID-19 in L.A. County, 22 were employees at skilled nursing facilities — by far the highest toll among healthcare professionals.

https://www.latimes.com/california/s...ing-california

[goodheathen]

Ferrer needs to be forced out.

[ggcd951]

I have been tracking latest statewide CA data last few days, more than 60-70% cases of CA alone is in LA. What happened, why is it so disproportionately high in LA?

[saybanana]

Who knows.
I think it is because LA County is the most populated county at 10 million out of 40 million statewide.
Because so many people live in LA County, with high latino populations (which account for a large majority of positive casesby race), it will have high statistics.
LA County also tests a lot of people weekly about 100,000 tests a week (15K a day) for 10 million. OC and SD do less testing (1000/million) than LA County about 1500/million . I guess it isn't that significant.

It could also be LA has a higher poverty rate and thus higher exposure in certain communities than others. An example is people who take the bus versus a car. Who is more likely to catch the virus and infect their family/neighborhood? The highest rates of infection are east of the 110 freeway or in the central and northeaster San Fernando Valley and also San Pedro. These aren't affluent areas with lots of money to just do zoom conference calls or just stay home. Many have to do essential jobs and just use public transportation and live in crowded living conditions. Just more likely to get exposure than other people who can just stay home and drive around in their car.

These are my main conclusions. I can't find an article that explains why LA County gets it worse than others.

[ggcd951]

i see, i saerch LA and comes up 4M but search LA county, indeed comes up with 10M, thought LA COUNTY fits within LA city i guess that is not the case. Entire SF bay area in comparison is just 8M.

[Taiko]

Originally Posted by ggcd951

i see, i saerch LA and comes up 4M but search LA county, indeed comes up with 10M, thought LA COUNTY fits within LA city i guess that is not the case. Entire SF bay area in comparison is just 8M.

There are 88 cities in Los Angeles County and large swaths of land not incorporated into a city government which is solely overseen politically by the County Board of Supervisors.

[saybanana]

By the way, I used the county of LA public health dashboard site to form conclusions. Im no expert in deciphering it, but i gave it try.
website: http://dashboard.publichealth.lacoun...nce_dashboard/

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by saybanana

I can't find an article that explains why LA County gets it worse than others.

Scroll back; multiple reasons have been discussed.