LOS ANGELES, CA — A second person in Los Angeles County died this week after contracting the new coronavirus, health officials said Thursday.

According to the Los Angeles County Public Health Department, the person died at a Pasadena hospital. Authorities identified the patient as a man between the ages of 30 and 50 who had underlying health problems. TMZ interviewed the man's sister, who said he was a 34-year-old man who recently visited Disney World while on a work trip before flying home to Los Angeles International Airport last week. According to TMZ, the man was Jeffrey Ghazarian, a resident of Glendora.

She told TMZ his decline was frighteningly rapid, going from a slight cough to critical condition almost overnight. Los Angeles County health officials confirmed 40 new cases Thursday, bringing the countywide total to 230 cases.

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"I want to express my deepest condolences to the family and friends of the person who's deceased," said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, head of the county Department of Public Health. "I'm so sorry for your loss, and I hope you know that we as a community are mourning with you."

Ferrer stressed that the county will see continued increases in cases over the next four to 12 weeks.

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"But that doesn't mean that the important actions that you're all taking to combat this virus are not working," she said. "Social distancing is critical, and we implore you to take seriously everyone's obligation to limit their exposures to others and to limit others from being exposed to you. This is the one way that we can all be serious about what it mean to try to slow down the increasing number of cases here in the county." Ferrer also gave this advice: "As a general rule of thumb, you should assume that you may be infected and that others around you may be infected."