Photo: Mario Tama / Getty Images
During 2020, the first year of the COVID pandemic, the total number of people who died in Los Angeles County increased by 26% in comparison with 2019, and the SARS CoV-2 virus was officially ranked as the second leading cause of death, according to a report released Tuesday by the Department of Public Health.
According to the health authorities, a total of 81,083 County deaths in 2020 , an increase of 26,566 from 2019.
A total of 11,101, or the 67%, of these additional deaths, were attributed to COVID.
The report determined that coronavirus was the second leading cause of death in the county in 2020, behind coronary heart disease, which was responsible for 12,207 deaths that year. Deaths from heart disease accounted for an increase of 07% with respect to 2019.
The other leading causes of death in county during 2020 were Alzheimer’s disease (4,978), stroke (4,026) and diabetes (3,527), according to the report. All of those numbers represented increases from 2019, according to county health officials.
“The large increase in deaths in the space of a single year is unprecedented in modern times, and largely reflects the devastating impact of the COVID pandemic,” he said. the director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Barbara Ferrer.
“The disparities we see are long-standing, but they have been worsened by the COVID pandemic and rooted in social inequality, economic and environmental conditions; structural racism and differential access to health-promoting resources experienced by different groups. As we continue our essential efforts to reduce the risks of COVID, it is imperative that we recognize that these efforts are tied in with other efforts needed to address the underlying inequities that drive the disparity in mortality rates observed throughout the county,” added Ferrer.
The report noted that the highest death rate in Los Angeles County in 2020 was among Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, with 1,324 deaths for each 100, population; followed by American Indians and Alaska Natives, with 1,81 for each 100,000 population; black residents in 1,16 For each 100,000 population; Latinos with 822 for every 100,000 population; white ones with 698 for each 100, population; and Asians, with 527 for every 100,05 population.
It may interest you:
· In the Latino community, poverty fueled by the pandemic triggers a silent crisis in mental health
Pfizer-BioNTech: three doses protect children under 5 years of age against coronavirus
COVID: Los Angeles County records highest number of residents hospitalized for the disease since March