One death every ten minutes: this is the frequency with which the Los Angeles County health authorities posted messages on Twitter on Thursday to pay tribute to the victims of the coronavirus and to urge the population to refrain from any gathering for the New Year's Eve. New Year.
“
# Every10Minutes someone dies from Covid-19 in LA County.
People we loved and who will be missed.
Until the spread is slowed down, the next person to tragically die could be someone you know,
”local health officials tweeted at 12:00 am Thursday before starting their sad tally.
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"
A mother
", "
a cancer survivor
", "
someone who loved the rain
", "
the father who took the bus every day to go to work
", "
the gas station employee who always had smile
", echoes the Twitter account at ten-minute intervals, each time with a reminder to be careful:"
Please stay home tonight
","
Please cover it up. face when you go out
”.
“
It's a 24 hour campaign that will end at midnight tonight.
We want to highlight the devastating impact of Covid-19 on our population;
more than 10,000 people have died this year and all of them were loved and loved others,
”the county public health department told AFP.
Los Angeles, the most populous county in the United States with some ten million inhabitants, has become one of the main foci of the coronavirus pandemic in the country and is breaking records for almost daily contaminations, with hospitals overwhelmed by the new cases.
As of Thursday, some 756,000 cases had been officially identified in the county, where restrictive measures (bars and restaurants closed except for take-out, curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., etc.) are in place, as in all of the south. from California.
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Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti called on every household to wisely celebrate the New Year at home, warning that city police would patrol to spot and sanction any significant gatherings.
The city prosecutor has asked a website widely used by event organizers, individuals or professionals, to withdraw all invitations to New Year's Eve parties.
Health officials estimate that about one in 100 people is currently a carrier of the coronavirus in Los Angeles County.