The death toll in Los Angeles County has surpassed 1,000 with an additional 56 lives lost over the past 24 hours due to COVID-19 illness, it was announced Wednesday.
Of those who have died, 92 percent have faced underlying health issues, a percentage that has remained consistent over the past two weeks, said L.A.
County Department of Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer, underscoring the need for people with health issues to remain home and follow social distancing guidelines to prevent serious illness and death.
She also reported an additional 1,541 newly diagnosed cases, bring the county's coronavirus case count to 22,485, close to half of California's statewide total of 46,500.