Coronavirus In Malibu: 40 More Dead 10,047 Cases Countywide – DriveThru Testing Avail To Greater Malibu – Mercy Becomes COVID Hotspot – New Rules For Food Delivery

The death toll in Los Angeles County jumped by 40 yesterday.

That’s 40 people killed as of midday yesterday … in 24 hours … by the disease.

10,047 COVID 19 cases have been confirmed in L A County so far.

350 in nearby Ventura County.

And 13 deaths in Ventura County.

In Malibu … an increase of 2 confirmed cases.

18 people who resident within the city limits now are confirmed with COVD-19.

Agoura Hills 21

Calabasas 26.

Pacific Palisades 32.

Santa Monica 96.

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The City of Malibu resumes doing drive thru testing in Malibu today.

And the city hall effort has enough tests to offer them to anyone in greater Malibu … who is worried about having the disease.

These are nasal swab tests…. they will not tell you if you have had the disease and recovered.

Only if there is an active virus presence in your body at the time of the test.

The city test is by the City of Malibu … Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE), Covid Clinic and Malibu Medical Group.

All first responders should be tested … the city says.

They also want all essential workers in Malibu tested … people like grocery workers.

Any community members who are concerned that they may have been exposed are also urged to get tested.

The county’s drive thru test system continue to expand capacity.

They now have enough tests to handle anyone who has symptoms.

We have links for both test services … and pre-registration is required online. https://www.MalibuMedicalGroup.com/contents/covid-19.

https://lacovidprod.service-now.com/rrs

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It is important to remember.

The tests that are being administered now can only tell us if we have the disease at this particular moment.

A snapshot in time.

We do not know how far the viruses spread … and without that baseline data … we do not know how deadly it is.

The mortality rate is now approaching 4% in California … but that’s the percentage of people who have the disease who die.

We still have zero data on how far the virus has spread.

Los Angeles county this week will begin testing the blood of 1,000 randomly selected residents, including those with no symptoms, to see if they have or had COVID-19.

This study will look for antibodies in the blood.

Thus study has the potential to shed light on the true mortality rate of the coronavirus, the efficacy of social distancing efforts and when this unprecedented clampdown on daily life could end.

This is known as serological testing, and it could paint the most complete picture yet of the sweep of the pandemic in the nation’s most populous county.

The chief science officer of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is Dr. Paul Simon.

He tells the LA Times that the serological study will answer questions.

“Is it 1% of our population? Is it 10% of our population? That’s the difference between 80,000 adults and 800,000 adults. We have no idea,”

The Los Angeles Times reports that this serological testing brings L A County into the growing ranks of governments and researchers that are turning to antibody tests as a new frontier in the campaign against COVID-19.

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It was the best of intentions … a frantic attempt to prevent hospital overload in the L A area.

The hospital ship USNS Mercy was sent from San Diego to San Pedro.

Now … the AP reports that seven of the ship’s personnel have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

And 116 medical staff members have come into contact with those sick people … so they have all been taken to a nearby Navy base and remain under quarantine.

All personnel were screened before they boarded the ship in San Diego March 23rd … and none have been allowed off the ship since it docked at San Pedro.

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New rules have been enacted to protect the health of food delivery workers, who are playing a key role in getting meals and groceries to housebound residents.

But these new rules apply only in the unincorporated areas of Malibu … not within Malibu city limits.

Companies such as Instacart, Doordash and Shipt are targeted by an ordinance authored by Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and passed by the board on Tuesday.

The L A Times reports the ordinance requires food delivery platforms to provide access to face coverings and gloves or hand sanitizer to workers, either by supplying workers directly or by making sufficient funds available to workers to purchase this personal protective equipment.

Companies are also required to provide a “no contact” option, so that workers can make deliveries without being physically close to customers. Grocery and pharmacy stores will be required to allow delivery workers to use their restrooms to wash their hands.