Workplace Outbreaks Surge as Public Health Ramps Up COVID-19 Vaccination Capacity

281 New Deaths and 14,564 New Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) confirmed 281 new deaths and 14,564 new cases of COVID-19. To date, Public Health identified 958,497 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 12,955 deaths.

Of the 281 new deaths reported today, 81 people that passed away were over the age of 80, 96 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, 52 people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, 20 people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49. Twenty-four deaths were reported by the City of Long Beach and eight deaths were reported by the City of Pasadena.

There are 7,949 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 22% of these people are in the ICU. With 14,000 or more people testing positive every day, we can predict with a fair amount of accuracy that 10 -12% of those who test positive will become sick enough to require hospitalization.

The COVID-19 surge in Los Angeles County has contributed to a surge in outbreaks at workplaces across the county, including grocery stores, warehouses, manufacturing facilities, and many other workplaces where people come together on a daily basis.  The largest increase is among general worksites, which includes warehouses, manufacturing facilities and logistics companies.   In just over a month, outbreaks at these worksites increased from 9 per week on November 1, to 44 per week on December 6, nearly a fivefold increase.

The County has also experienced an increase in outbreaks in schools and daycare settings. Starting in the middle of November, outbreaks increased from about 20 outbreaks to a total of 70 outbreaks by mid-December. And while almost all the outbreaks were small and well-contained, dozens of staff and a small number of students were affected.

The County is also experiencing increases in workplace outbreaks at food facilities which includes retail food outlets such as grocery stores and convenience stores as well as food manufacturing facilities.

These increases reflect a pattern of transmission: from worksite to home and back to worksites. As the percentage of people who are positive with COVID-19 increase, there is a larger pool of infected people walking around without symptoms who now expose a greater and greater percentage of people to this virus.

Employees are reminded if you have concerns about your workplace following safety protocols that keep you and customers safe, you can anonymously call the customer call center at (888) 700-9995, Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. To report violations online, visit: www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

Employees are reminded to stay home if you begin to develop symptoms and call your medical provider. If you test positive and may have exposed others, please call our contact tracing team, 833-641-0305 so we can get in touch with those who may be exposed. If you are an employer, avoid the risk of having your business closed and take all the infection control measures we have outlined on our Public Health website.

Public Health reports as of Tuesday, more than 194,000 first does of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to those in Phase 1A. In addition, more than 44,000 second doses have been administered.  Public Health is ramping up capacity to complete vaccinations for the approximately 500,000 frontline healthcare workers.  This currently includes adding dozens more pharmacies and healthcare clinics, as well as the addition of five new large-capacity vaccination sites that the county is opening next Tuesday.  These vaccination sites are only open to healthcare workers in Phase 1A.  Healthcare workers can register for an appointment and must show job verification when showing up for their vaccine.  The registration system for these five large-capacity vaccination centers for healthcare workers opened today.  Please visit the healthcare worker signup website.

The current goal is to complete vaccinations of frontline healthcare workers and staff and residents at skilled nursing facilities by the end of January.  As the County completes Phase 1A, we can look to starting vaccinations for groups within next phase – 1B, starting with those who are 65 and older as noted by the Governor today. We are working with the State to identify additional vaccine doses so that we can start to schedule appointments once the doses arrive.

For information about the safety of vaccines and when your turn is coming up and to sign up for a vaccination newsletter, and much more, visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com

“We extend our deepest sympathies to everyone who is saddened, who is struggling with the loss of a loved one or friend who passed away from COVID-19. Our prayers and thoughts are with you always,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “We are tragically losing more than 1,300 people a week to this disease. You or the person right next to you stand a very good chance of having the coronavirus and you may not know it, but as a carrier, you risk the health of many others. Your infection could lead to 20 infections in just a matter of a couple of days and someone along that path of transmission could die from it.  These are not normal times, so we can’t go out and act as if nothing is going on. This is an invisible virus that is not going away soon.  We are in a serious pandemic, so we all need to pull back, protect ourselves and protect others.  If everyone stays home as much as possible, wears a mask wherever you are at work, while taking a walk, you can save a life.  If you maintain a distance from everyone, you can save a life.  If you wash your hands all the time, you can save a life.  We need to remain diligent.”

As the COVID-19 pandemic worsens, certain groups are again bearing a greater burden of serious illness than others. Latino/Latinx residents are now experiencing a 7-day cumulative rate that has more than doubled, from 773 cases per 100,000 people on December 1, to 1,763 cases per 100,000 people on January 6. This is more than two times that of African American/Black residents, the group with the second highest case rate of about 790 cases per 100,000 individuals. White residents experienced 650 cases per 100,000 people and Asian residents are close behind with 555 cases per 100,000 individuals.

The County is witnessing the tragedy from the surge in cases, and Latino/Latinx residents are faring the worst.  In early-November, the death rate among Latino/Latinx residents increased more than 800%, from 3.5 deaths per 100,000 residents a day to 28 deaths per 100,000 residents a day. Over this same period, the death rate among African American/Black residents increased from less than 1 death per 100,000 people a day to more than 15 deaths per 100,000 people. Deaths also have increased dramatically among Asian residents, from 0.5 deaths per 100,000 people in early November to 12 deaths per 100,000 people and among White residents, there are now at 10 deaths per 100,000 people.

We continue to see a high mortality rate among people living in areas with the highest levels of poverty, with three times the death rate compared to people living in the lowest levels of poverty.

We remain deeply committed to addressing the root causes of this disproportionate impact on health. This means standing up against racism, increasing access to medical care and ensuring that every individual, family and community has the resources needed to survive this pandemic. Individuals and families living in the hardest hit communities remain a priority for us as we move toward a mass vaccination program.

Testing results are available for more than 5,077,000 individuals with 18% of people testing positive.

The Reopening Protocols, COVID-19 Surveillance Interactive Dashboard, Roadmap to Recovery, Recovery Dashboard, and additional things you can do to protect yourself, your family and your community are on the Public Health website, www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

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