Los Angeles County Begins to Meet Metric Thresholds for Red Tier

70 New Deaths and 1,337 New Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has confirmed 70 new deaths and 1,337 new cases of COVID-19. To date, Public Health identified 1,205,276 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 22,099 deaths.

There are 1,119 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 30% of these people are in the ICU.  Testing results are available for nearly 5,905,000 individuals with 19% of people testing positive.  Today’s daily test positivity rate is 2.2%.

Of the 70 new deaths reported today, 24 people that passed away were over the age of 80, 29 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, 12 people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, and five people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49.

According to the State’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, Los Angeles County has begun to meet the metric thresholds for the red tier that allows for additional re-openings, including on-site learning for grades 7 through 12. In order to move into the less restrictive red tier, L.A. County’s daily case rate must be at or below 7 new cases per 100,000 people and the County’s test positivity rate must be at or below 8% for two consecutive weeks. L.A. County’s adjusted case rate dropped from 7.2 new cases per 100,000 people to 5.2 new cases per 100,000 people. The test positivity rate dropped from 3.5% to 2.5%.  Should the cases and test positivity rates remain at or below the red tier metrics next week, the County would move to the red tier on March 17.

The state also updated the Blueprint framework to include vaccine equity. Once 2 million vaccine doses have been administered statewide to the communities with the lowest score in the Healthy Places Index, the threshold to move from the purple tier to the red tier will go from 7 new cases per 100,000 people to 10 new cases per 100,000 people.   This would accelerate L.A. County’s move to the red tier, since the county has two consecutive weeks with case rates below 10 new cases per 100,000 residents.

Once 4 million vaccine doses have been administered in the state to the communities with the lowest score in the Healthy Places Index, the threshold to move from the purple tier to the red tier will remain at 10 per 100,000 people, but the threshold will change for moving to the orange tier, from 4 new cases per 100,0000 residents to 6 cases per 100,000 people, and to move to the yellow tier, the threshold will change from 1 new case per 100,000 residents to 2 cases per 100,000 people.

Public Health is working with the Board of Supervisors and sector partners to prepare appropriate modifications to the Health Officer Order reflecting the County’s move to the red tier.

“To everyone mourning loved ones and friends who have passed away from COVID-19, our hearts go out to you,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “It is uplifting to know Los Angeles County is close to meeting thresholds that will allow us to move into the State’s less restrictive red tier in California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy. This means that, as we continue to vaccinate more residents, we are slowing transmission, saving lives, and closer to ending this pandemic. To stay on this trajectory, it is important residents, businesses, and schools follow the safety measures as we together continue to reduce transmission and slow the spread, including wearing masks and physically distancing.”

Public Health continues to track the impact of COVID-19 on expecting and new moms and newborns. As of March 1, there have been a total of 11 deaths among the 6,589 pregnant women who tested positive for COVID-19. Seventy-eight percent of pregnant women testing positive for COVID-19 are Latina/Latinx, 10% are White, 5% are African American/Black, 4% are Asian, less than 1% are Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, 2% identify with another race, and race/ethnicity was unknown or unspecified for 1%. Among the 4,726 births where there was testing information, 49 infants tested positive for the virus.

Expecting and new moms are encouraged to take extra care and remain home as much as possible to avoid exposure to COVID-19. If you are sick or positive for COVID-19 and breastfeeding, wear a mask while breastfeeding or bottle-feeding, and be sure to wash your hands before touching the baby or any pump or bottle before using. If possible, ask someone else to feed the baby your breastmilk by bottle. Public Health has detailed guidance for expecting and new moms available online.

Currently, people eligible for the vaccine include healthcare workers, residents and staff at long-term care facilities, people 65 or older, education and childcare workers, food and agriculture workers, and emergency service workers and law enforcement. For information about vaccine appointments in L.A. County and when your turn is coming up, to sign up for a vaccination newsletter, and much more, visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish).  Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status.

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

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