Individuals age 41 or younger in LA County leading spike in COVID-19 cases

Health officials say more than half of the new COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles County are people who are 41 years old or younger.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed 50 new deaths and 2,741 new cases.

Younger people account for 57% of new COVID-19 cases in the county. Los Angeles County Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer said individuals in that age group appear to have taken a cavalier approach toward protections against the potentially deadly virus.

Mayor Eric Garcetti conceded that Los Angeles reopened too quickly and warned the city was "on the brink" of new shutdown orders as the coronavirus continues to surge in California.

The city of Los Angeles remains at an orange threat level, but officials continue to warn that the area is on the brink of a red threat level, which would mean a complete shutdown.

L.A. County officials say the virus is swiftly moving through manufacturing and meat packing plants, as well as grocery stores.

Cases in Orange County are also on the rise, now outpacing Riverside County. O.C. confirmed 30,976 cases, slightly higher than Riverside County with 30,890.

Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the number of Americans who have contracted COVID-19 could be up to 24 times higher than what official numbers show. The CDC also said the data shows asymptomatic people are significantly contributing to the spread of the virus.

"We saw a lot of patients that were sick that we didn't know were sick. March, April and May we had depressed testing capacity, we were all struggling to test patients, and it just tells us that there are a lot more people that are out there that are actually harboring this virus. And a lot of them are asymptomatic," said Dr. Anthony Cardillo, ER specialist and CEO of Mend Urgent Care.

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