Coronavirus crisis: 5 health-care workers, including 3 nurses, among newly reported deaths in LA County

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The deaths of five health-care workers infected with COVID-19 were among the fatalities announced Friday by Los Angeles County officials.

The five deaths "have been fairly recent," Dr. Barabara Ferrer, the county's director of public health, said at a daily briefing, adding that three of the individuals worked at skilled-nursing facilities. One worked in correctional health and another worked at a hospital.

Three were nurses.

Coronavirus: SoCal nurses protest, demand personal protective equipment

"And to the families of the health-care workers who lost their lives, we're very sorry for your loss and we keep you in our prayers," Ferrer said.

At the same press conference, Ferrer reported 654 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 among health-care workers, bringing the total to 1,441 in that profession.

Nurses comprise 38% of those cases, 6% are physicians, 4% are in administration and 4% work in "non-patient-facing services at various health-care facilities," Ferrer said. "The rest of the cases are scattered among many different health-care occupations."