By Jorge Casuso

April 2, 2020 -- Three cases of the coronavirus were confirmed in Santa Monica Thursday, bringing the total number to 56, as Los Angeles County health officials reported 13 news deaths.

Of the deceased, 12 were over the age of 65, while the other was between 41 and 65, health officials said. All but one of the older patients had underlying health conditions.

The death toll was the highest since the first death resulting from the virus was reported in LA County on March 11. There were 10 deaths reported Tuesday and 11 Wednesday.

Santa Monica's three new cases were among the 534 cases confirmed Thursday, bringing the total to 4,045. There have been 78 deaths.

To date, 879 people who tested positive for the coronavirus -- 22 percent of positive cases -- have been hospitalized at some point during their illness, County officials said.

“The psychological impact of rising case counts and deaths is real, both individually and collectively," said County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer, "and I urge everyone to take care of their emotional health and to check in frequently with those in your extended communities.

"This will be a long haul, and we have many weeks of work ahead before we begin to see the benefits of our efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19," Ferrer said.

"But if we act as one community against this virus, by staying home as much as possible, self-isolating when we are sick and self-quarantining if we’ve been exposed, we will get through this, together.”

The number of new cases in the County have been hovering above 500 for three days -- with 548 cases reported Tuesday and 513 on Wednesday, after 338 cases were reported Monday.

This week 1,933 cases have been reported, nearly half of the total cases reported since the first 28 cases were confirmed on March 11.

Of the 56 confirmed cases in Santa Monica, 15 were reported this week. The first case was reported on March 17.

Of the 88 cities in LA County, Santa Monica now ranks seventh in the number of confirmed cases.

Los Angeles has the most cases with 1,787, followed by Long Beach with 139, Glendale with 93, West Hollywood with 68, Torrance with 69 and Santa Clarita with 65.