Public health officials are encouraging Los Angeles County residents to skip going out this week even for grocery shopping, if possible, as the county enters a ”critical” week for coronavirus cases.

In a press conference Monday, Dr. Barbara Ferrer, the county health director, urged the public to avoid going outside, especially those over the age of 65 or with underlying health conditions.

“If you have enough supplies in your home, this would be the week to skip shopping altogether,” Ferrer said.

The public health director recommended using delivery services for groceries and medication, adding, “This would be the week to put that in place.”

“Please take advantage as much as possible of delivery services for groceries, medication and other essential items,” Ferrer said. “We want to encourage grocery stores and pharmacies to offer free delivery services wherever possible to those at higher risk of serious illness from COVID-19.”

Ferrer noted that 83 percent of the people who have died from the virus in L.A. County had underlying health conditions, and 76 percent of those who died were older than 65.

“It’s very important to us that if you’re elderly or you have an underlying health condition that you stay home, except to go to medical appointments,” Ferrer said. “When you’re out and about, even for essential services, you’re putting yourself at risk for becoming infected with COVID-19 and becoming seriously ill. This is especially true as more and more people in L.A. County are infected and capable of infecting others.”

As of Monday, there are 6,360 coronavirus cases in L.A. County, with over 1,000 in the past 48 hours alone, according to public health officials.

Dr. Christina Ghaly, director of the L.A. County Department of Health Services, said this is “a critical week in helping to understand what the curve and the trajectory of this pandemic will be.”

As testing increases, public health officials are able to see the full trends across the county, according to Ghaly.

Approximately 32,000 tests have been conducted so far as of Friday, with the majority still being processed, according to public health officials

“It really is time for those people who may not have taken this seriously before to understand the seriousness of what’s going on in our communities,” Ferrer said. “The seriousness of living through a pandemic.”

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