KTLA

L.A. County suffering disproportionate share of coronavirus deaths as it sets record for 3rd straight day

Officers from the Los Angeles School Police Department serve as honor guard and present the family with an American flag at the funeral Wednesday of retired school Police Officer Charles Jackson Jr., who died of coronavirus complications. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Even as the growth of coronavirus cases appears to be slowing in California, the numbers of dead reached new highs this week with the toll being particularly grim in Los Angeles County.

Coronavirus-linked fatalities hit another one-day high in Los Angeles County on Thursday as health officials confirmed 52 additional deaths for a total of 457. It marked the third straight day the county has seen a record number of deaths, according to the county’s tally.

While the coronavirus crisis began in the Bay Area, Los Angeles County now accounts for an outsized number of deaths despite its large size.

The county represents a quarter of California’s population but has been the site of almost half of the deaths due to COVID-19, a Times data analysis found. The five-county Southern California region accounts for roughly 60% of the deaths in California due to the coronavirus, even though it makes up just 48% of California’s population.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.