Key COVID-19 Indicators Trending in the Right Direction in L.A. County

Public Health Reports 256 New Deaths and 9,277 New Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has confirmed 256 new deaths and 9,277 new cases of confirmed COVID-19. To date, Public Health has identified 1,054,802 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 14,894 deaths.

New cases are considerably lower this week, with a decrease of 30 percent in the seven-day average of daily cases from last week. The test positivity rate has also dropped to 12.7 percent. On January 1^st, the test positivity rate was 20.8 percent; this is a reduction of 39 percent in three weeks. On November 1^st, just before our surge began, the County’s test positivity rate was 3.8 percent. While we have come a long way this week with community transmission, we have a long road to go and must continue to practice infectious control measures: wear a face covering and maintain physical distance when out of your home.

There are currently 7,073 people hospitalized with COVID-19, and 24% of these people are in the ICU. Since last Friday, the daily number of people hospitalized has decreased by 642, down 8 percent.

As of yesterday, L.A. County and our many partners had administered more than 441,000 doses of vaccine, including more than 352,000 first doses and more than 88,000 second doses. Public Health has built, through a very successful public-private partnership, a robust system that is capable of vaccinating a large number of Los Angeles County residents in a safe, fair and equitable manner. We have 280 providers able to give vaccinations, which can be greatly expanded as vaccine supply increases. However, the County has only received enough vaccination supply to inoculate 1 in 4 people who are currently eligible.

“Through these difficult times, we mourn with all of you who have lost someone you love to COVID-19. We are deeply sorry for your loss,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “It is clear that careful actions many have been taking this month are making a difference. It is also apparent that the road ahead remains difficult. Knowing that it will take months to complete vaccinations, and that there is a more infectious variant, means we need everyone to adhere to the rules that allow us to protect each other.”

Last weekend, Public Health reported the first confirmed sample of the U.K. variant in Los Angeles County. Public Health continues to test samples for this and other known variants. It’s important to remember that viruses constantly change through mutation, and new variants of a virus are expected to occur over time.  The U.K. variant, which scientists have labeled as B117, has emerged with an unusually large number of mutations. Experts believe this variant can spread at least 50 percent faster, meaning it’s more transmissible, but there is no evidence it can cause more severe illness or increased risk of death. Experts predict this variant could be dominant in the U.S. by March.

The other variant Public Health is monitoring is known as the Denmark variant, or what experts have labeled as L452R. What is not known at this point is whether it is more transmissible, but there is concern about its mutations. This variant is in California and is beginning to show up in a lot more samples, according to one independent analysis.

Of the 235 deaths reported today (not including Long Beach and Pasadena), 82 people that passed away were over the age of 80 years old, 85 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, 52 people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, 15 people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49 years old, and one person who died was between the ages of 18 and 29 years old. Of the deaths reported today, 195 deaths were people with underlying health conditions, including 64 people who were over the age of 80 years old, 73 people who were between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, 46 people between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, 11 people between the ages of 30 and 49 years old and one person between the ages of 19 and 29 years old. Fifteen deaths were reported today by the city of Long Beach and six deaths were reported by the city of Pasadena.

Of the total number of people who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 13,954 people; 52% of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 24% among White residents, 13% among Asian residents, 8% among African American/Black residents, less than 1% among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander residents and 2% among residents identifying with other races. Upon further investigation, 496 cases and three deaths reported earlier were not L.A. County residents.

Testing results are available for more than 5,326,000 individuals with 19% of all 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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