Nine more people in Los Angeles County have died as a result of the novel coronavirus, public health officials reported on Thursday, March 26. A total of 21 people in LA County have lost their lives from COVID-19, the disease that results from the coronavirus.

Los Angeles County Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer declined to offer any more details about the individuals who died or where they resided because some of the immediate family have not been reached yet, she said.

The county also announced 421 new cases Thursday putting the total number of confirmed cases at 1,216 people, a near doubling in 48 hours.

The latest figures show just what health officials said they feared for weeks, that the growing number of cases will increase exponentially and Los Angeles could face a surge at area hospitals like that seen in China, Italy and New York currently.

“If we don’t curtail that spread within a few weeks there could be a million people affected,” Ferrer said. “If 20% need some sort of hospital care, you can see why we need people helping to slow the spread. That would be 200,000 people who need to be hospitalized.”

As of Thursday, the county had 208 open intensive care unit beds in the entire county, according Dr. Christina Ghaly, director of health services. There are also about 1,500 other hospital beds available, and Ghaly said all hospitals had the ability to accommodate surge capacity.

As for ventilators, Ghaly said area hospitals had 830 ventilators with a few hundred more being delivered.

On Wednesday, public health officials sent a message to providers instructing them to preserve personal protective equipment and reuse whatever they could because of limited supplies. A disconcerting message for some given that hospitals have yet to experience the surge that’s been so anticipated. Ghaly on Thursday said there was no immediate shortage of gear but they were being proactive.

“The stockpile has been distributed and is in the process of being distributed but these numbers change on a daily basis.” Ghaly said. “There are shipments that come in every day not just through state and federal stockpile deliveries but the regular supply chain.”

The county adjusted its death toll slightly from previous reports. Officials on Wednesday pulled back on linking the death of a Lancaster juvenile to the coronavirus saying the U.S. Centers for Disease Control was now investigating the case. Another previously reported death was a resident who lived in another county.

“Reporting these deaths is the worst day for us at DPH, but it cannot compare to the deep loss for the family and friends,” Ferrer said.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said during his daily late afternoon briefing that L.A. should to see in about a week the type of surge of its hospitals like what’s occurring in New York right now.

“Those images that came to Italy and New York, those are coming here too,” Garcetti said. “The truth of the matter is there is no projection where a couple weeks from now we will be fine.”

In response to the shortage of personal protective gear, Garcetti said the city had partnered with Reformation clothing company to produce face masks. He also called on other manufacturing companies to partner with the city.

“I’ve always said L.A. is a manufacturing capital,” Garcetti said, “now we are going to prove it.”

Out of the 1,216 cases confirmed so far, 40% were people between the ages of 18 and 40, another 40% were between 41 and 65, and 253 cases have been hospitalized, roughly 21% of all positive cases. Mortality was currently at 1.6% of confirmed cases, Ferrer said, similar to that of the U.S. as a whole.

One of the deaths could possibly be that of Joe Radisich, Sr., a legendary football coach at Mary Star of the Sea High School in San Pedro who died Wednesday night, March 25, after testing positive for the novel coronavirus, according to his son. He was 84.

It was unclear if Radisich’s death was included in the number of confirmed deaths related to COVID-19 put out by the county. Based on the most recent list of cases, San Pedro accounted for two confirmed cases.

Radisich’s son, longshoreman and former Los Angeles Harbor Commissioner Joe Radisich, Jr., said his father became ill about a week ago and already was battling a number of other health problems.

Also on Thursday, Ferrer said the steep increase in recent days was primarily attributed to increase in testing capacity and catching up with a backlog of tests. LA County continued to expand testing capacity, having now opened several locations with drive-thru testing. But those slots are only available by appointment only through a web portal at corona-virus.la. So far, 9,400 people have been tested in LA County with 10% of them coming up positive.

Among them, an employee at a Cardenas market in Pomona has tested positive for coronavirus, the grocery chain announced.

Out of 1,216 confirmed, 41 cases were attributed to Long Beach, and nine cases in Pasadena. Long Beach also had 1 death. Later in the day Long Beach reported 13 new cases. Both cities operate their own health departments so numbers have been delayed getting to LA County officials.

Ferrer also said the county was monitoring 14 institutional settings including nursing homes where the coronavirus has been identified in a patient or staff member. One of those includes The Kensington, an assisted living facility in Redondo Beach where at least three people have tested positive for COVID-19 and others were awaiting tests.

While ambulances, fire trucks and paramedics have arrived at The Kensington this week, a facility spokeswoman referred media requests to the Los Angeles County Department of Health, which in turn did not answer specific questions.

On Wednesday, Hermosa Beach took action on its own to close its beaches and Strand. Because the city owns the beaches there and not the county as in most places, it could make such a move. All other LA County beaches remained open Thursday, though and public officials have cautioned more sternly against gathering at the beach or other outdoor locations.

Los Angeles County Parks closed its trails and Rancho Palos Verdes closed its nature preserves and hiking trails this week.

The arrival on Friday of the USNS Mercy from San Diego into the Port of Los Angeles promises to offer much-needed relief to area hospitals by housing patients who currently at hospitals for other needs.

The county also on Wednesday issued a new directive to the public saying that for anyone who’s been tested or presumed positive to stay home for seven days. The patient can only leave their home after the seven day quarantine if they haven’t shown symptoms for 72 hours.

As of March 26, Riverside County has confirmed 107 cases, including 8 deaths. Orange County, had 256 cases and a single death. San Bernardino County had 55 cases and three deaths.

California Department of Health, as of March 25, confirmed 2,535 cases, not including Grand Princess, and 53 deaths. More than 700 were community acquired. Nationally, the U.S> Centers for Disease Control has reported 68,440 total US cases, 994 deaths as of Wednesday. And globally, the World Health Organization as of Wednesday confirmed 413,467 cases and 18,433 deaths.

The following list represents 1,216 confirmed cases by geographic region of at least 25,000 people. Areas with less than 25,000 people have been combined with an adjacent area.

Age Group (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)

0 to 17 — 19

18 to 40 –462

41 to 65 –462

over 65 –223

CITY / COMMUNITY**

Agoura Hills* 5

Alhambra 8

Altadena* 6

Arcadia 6

Arleta 2

Athens 3

Azusa* 1

Baldwin Hills 4

Bell 2

Bell Gardens* 3

Bellflower* 8

Beverly Hills 15

Beverlywood* 10

Boyle Heights 7

Brentwood* 42

Burbank 6

Calabasas* 5

Canoga Park 3

Canyon Country* 1

Carson* 21

Castaic 2

Century City* 9

Century Palms/Cove* 3

Cerritos* 2

Chatsworth 1

Claremont* 1

Cloverdale/Cochran* 3

Compton* 5

Covina* 4

Crenshaw District* 2

Crestview* 9

Culver City* 8

Del Rey 9

Diamond Bar 2

Downey 10

Downtown* 7

Duarte* 2

Eagle Rock 3

East Hollywood 2

East Los Angeles 4

Echo Park* 7

El Segundo* 2

Encino 21

Exposition Park 2

Florence* 7

Gardena 4

Glassell Park 2

Glendale 23

Glendora* 2

Granada Hills 8

Hacienda Heights 2

Hancock Park* 10

Harbor City* 1

Harbor Gateway* 3

Harvard Heights* 2

Hawthorne* 9

Highland Park 3

Hollywood 27

Hollywood Hills 17

Hyde Park* 1

Inglewood 12

Koreatown 7

La Canada Flintridge* 6

La Mirada* 5

La Puente 1

La Verne* 2

Lake Balboa 3

Lakewood* 7

Lancaster* 16

Lawndale* 2

Leimert Park* 2

Lincoln Heights 1

Little Bangladesh 1

Lomita* 12

Los Feliz* 5

Long Beach — 54

Lynwood 6

Manhattan Beach* 21

Mar Vista 8

Maywood* 1

Melrose 47

Miracle Mile* 13

Monrovia* 2

Montebello 1

Monterey Park 4

Mt. Washington* 3

North Hills 1

North Hollywood 15

Northridge 4

Norwalk 9

Pacific Palisades* 12

Pacoima 1

Palmdale 2

Palms 10

Pasadena — 10

Panorama City 4

Paramount 4

Park La Brea* 8

Pico 5

Pico Rivera 2

Playa Vista* 8

Pomona* 3

Porter Ranch 2

Rancho Palos Verdes 6

Redondo Beach 20

Reseda 8

San Dimas* 1

San Fernando* 3

San Gabriel 3

San Pedro* 5

Santa Clarita 16

Santa Monica 21

Santa Monica Mountains* 4

Sherman Oaks 17

Silverlake 11

South El Monte* 4

South Gate 4

South Park 2

South Pasadena* 4

South Whittier* 4

Stevenson Ranch* 3

Studio City* 11

Sun Valley 2

Sunland* 1

Sylmar 2

Tarzana 14

Temple* 6

Torrance 14

Tujunga* 2

University Park* 6

Valinda* 1

Valley Glen* 12

Van Nuys 4

Venice 11

Vermont Knolls* 3

Vermont Vista* 5

Vernon Central 1

Walnut* 1

Watts 1

West Adams 6

West Covina 4

West Hills* 4

West Hollywood 35

West Los Angeles* 5

West Vernon* 6

West Whittier/Los Nietos* 1

Westchester 7

Westlake 1

Westwood 11

Whittier* 3

Wholesale District 6

Willowbrook* 1

Wilmington 5

Wilshire Center 2

Winnetka* 5

Woodland Hills 13

– Under Investigation 141*These regions contain multiple communities.**These numbers are subject to change based on further investigation; four previously reported cases were not in Public Health’s jurisdiction.***One death previously reported was not in Public Health’s jurisdiction.****Locations that were less <25000 have been added to the nearest city or community.