Health Department Reports 3 Laurel Hardware Restaurant Employees Infected with COVID-19

Los Angeles County reported another 40 deaths due to the coronavirus Friday, while also announcing three more confirmed cases of a COVID-19-related inflammatory condition in children. On its COVID-19 dashboard, the L.A. County Department of Public Health reports three employees of Laurel Hardware, the restaurant at 7984 Santa Monica Blvd., have been confirmed to be infected with the virus. 

Laurel Hardware is the second West Hollywood restaurant whose employees have been confirmed to have been infected by the virus. In July, the Health Department said that five employees of Katana, the restaurant at 8349 Sunset Blvd., had the virus.  It also identified seven people working at the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station as having been infected with the virus.

The pediatric malady, known as multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C, has now affected a total of 34 youth in the county. All of them were hospitalized at some point and nearly half wound up in an intensive- care unit, but no deaths have been reported. The syndrome can result in the swelling of organs including the heart, lungs, kidneys and gastrointestinal organs. The condition has generally been linked to children who either had or were exposed to COVID-19.

Of the Los Angeles County cases, 71% of the patients were Latino/Latina, according to the Department of Public Health.

The county on Friday announced 43 coronavirus-related deaths, although three of those fatalities were announced Thursday afternoon by health officials in Long Beach. The Long Beach and Pasadena health departments both reported three more deaths Friday. The new fatalities lifted the countywide death toll from throughout the pandemic to 6,177.

The county also announced 1,115 new confirmed cases of the virus, while Long Beach added 46 and Pasadena 13. The county’s cumulative case total rose to 252,125.  The number of people hospitalized in the county due to the virus dropped to 889 as of Friday, falling to levels not seen in the county since the early days of the pandemic in April.

L.A. .County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer also confirmed that it’s unlikely K-12 schools will be authorized to reopen for in- person instruction before November. Schools have been authorized to begin small in-person classes for students with specialized needs or individual learning plans or who are learning to speak English.

Ferrer reiterated that the county would not be offering waivers that were once on the table for individual schools to seek a return to in-person instruction, based on the virus situation in their particular community.

L.A. County is in the highest tier for danger from the pandemic, which means a general reopening of schools is not currently permitted under state orders. Long Beach Unified, the county’s second-largest school system, told parents Thursday that the district would continue online-only instruction through the winter break to provide instructional stability.

The number of confirmed infections in West Hollywood has increased by one to a total of 517.  The number of people in West Hollywood who have died of COVID-19 related illnesses remains at five.

In Beverly Hills, the number of confirmed has increased by three to 638. The number of COVID-19 related deaths in Beverly Hills has increased by one to a total of 12. The number of COVID-19 infection confirmed among Culver City residents remains 374. The number of deaths remains at 29. Hollywood has 15 newly confirmed infections, bringing its total to date is 1,134. The number of deaths remains at 14. The Melrose neighborhood has four new confirmed infections, bringing its total to date to 1,815. The number of COVID-19 related deaths remains at 70.

Public Health has a dedicated call line for confirmed cases of COVID-19. If you are positive for COVID-19 and have not yet connected with a public health specialist or need more information on services, call toll-free at 1 (833) 540-0473. Residents who do not have COVID-19 can continue to call 211 for resources or more information.

One way the virus can be transmitted is through a cough, a sneeze or even through air that comes from the mouth when someone talks. For that reason, residents must wear face coverings when out in public and can be cited for not doing so. The citations come with a $250 fine and a $50 administrative fee.

West Hollywood residents with questions about the COVID-19 pandemic or who are looking for resources to deal with it can find answers on the City of West Hollywood’s website. Here is a list of links to sections about particular subjects and issues: