80% of coronavirus patients in L.A. County are ages 18 to 65, infecting people ‘across the board’

Los Angeles County on Monday provided new information about the spread of coronavirus as well as the demographics of the patients.

NEW CASES: Officials confirmed Monday there were 128 new COVID-19 cases in the county and two more deaths from the disease caused by the coronavirus. That brings the total number of fatalities in the county to seven and the total case count to 536.

DEMOGRAPHICS: Of those who have tested positive, 80% are people ages 18 to 65, and 42% are in the 18-40 age group. “This virus can infect affect people from across the board,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of the L.A. County Public Health Department, on Monday. Those numbers are fairly in line with the statewide breakdown of COVID-19 cases as of Sunday:

• Ages 0-17: 25 cases
• Ages 18-49: 837 cases
• Ages 50-64: 442 cases
• Ages 65 and older: 415 cases
• Unknown: 14 cases

HOSPITALIZATION: Ninety people who have been infected in the county have at some point been hospitalized while sick, according to Ferrer, or 17% of those who have tested positive.

CLOSURES: The city of Los Angeles and other civic agencies announced new restrictions on movements due to the coronavirus.
They took the actions amid concerns over people continuing to jam trails, beaches and parks despite orders to stay home when possible and to practice social distancing. The closures include hiking trials, beach parking lots, group sports venues and parks.

SCHOOLS: Los Angeles public schools will remain closed until May 1 in response to the coronavirus outbreak as Supt. Austin Beutner announced Monday that Verizon would provide free internet access for all students who did not currently have it so learning can continue. Beutner said he had authorized $100 million in spending on technology to help students as the district struggled to provide online learning for about half a million students, many without internet access at home. The district is working on a plan to distribute more computers to students and instructions for accessing the Verizon program.

FEDERAL HELP: The Navy hospital ship Mercy, based in San Diego, has been deployed to Los Angeles and should be here within days. The Federal Emergency Management Agency was set to ship mobile hospital units to California within the next 48 hours. The state is in line to get eight of these units, for a total of 2,000 beds.