Los Angeles County Begins to Meet Metric Threshold for Less Restrictive Orange Tier

66 New Deaths and 490 New Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has confirmed 66 new deaths and 490 new cases of COVID-19. To date, Public Health identified 1,215,129 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 22,871 deaths.

There are 713 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 25% of these people are in the ICU.  The number of daily hospitalizations has returned to pre-surge levels.

Today, the State released updated numbers; L.A. County’s adjusted case rate dropped from 4.1 new cases per 100,000 people to 3.7 new cases per 100,000 people. The test positivity rate dropped from 2.0% to 1.8%. If the County continues to maintain current levels or declines in the case rate and test positivity rate, it is possible in early April for the County to move into the orange tier.  The County needs to remain in the red tier for three weeks prior to be assigned to the orange tier.

Testing results are available for more than 6,022,000 individuals with 19% of people testing positive. Residents should get tested if they have symptoms or were exposed to someone who was positive and isolate immediately from your family and others if you have symptoms or test positive for COVID-19. If you recently traveled and during your travels were in crowds, exposed to unmasked individuals in close proximity, or attended gatherings, you should get tested. For more information on how to get tested, visit: covid19.lacounty.gov/testing or call 2-1-1.

Of the 66 new deaths reported today, 14 people that passed away were over the age of 80, 16 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79,  21 people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64,  five people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49, and one person who died was between the ages of 18 and 29.  Eight deaths were reported by the City of Long Beach and one death was reported by the City of Pasadena.

“To everyone mourning people who have passed away from COVID-19, we send you our deepest condolences,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “It is certainly good news that we are making progress and we appreciate compliance with Public Health directives from our L.A. County businesses and residents; we are confident that these efforts contribute to lower case rates. However, we remain concerned about potential risks that can thwart our progress.  The risks include increased circulation of variants of concern, increasing cases across much of Europe and in many states, re-openings that are sloppy, and unsafe actions taken by individuals related to spring break and spring holidays.”

From March 15 to March 21, Public Health Inspectors visited a total of 1,224 businesses, including restaurants, markets, hair salons and barbershops, hotels, garment manufactures, and shopping malls.  Inspectors noted some businesses had not completed and posted their protocols and needed to improve physical distancing and infection control safety measures. Inspectors noted 56% of hotels, 71% of hair salons and barbershops, and 80% of restaurants completed and posted their protocols, and 86% of restaurants and 87% of markets were in compliance with physical distancing.  Only 52% of garment manufactures were in compliance with physical distancing and infection control safety measures.  Overall, the compliance inspections revealed that while the majority of businesses were in compliance, there is significant room for improvement.

Public Health encourages L.A. County businesses to participate in the COVID-19 Safety Compliance Certification Program. The program offers business owners and employees the opportunity to take a free online training about COVID-19 infection control protocols and allows businesses to self-certify that they are fully implementing the protocols in compliance with infection control and physical distancing requirements. To date, a total of 23,765 employees and employers have completed the training.

For information about who is eligible for COVID-19 vaccine in L.A. County, how to make an appointment if it is your turn, what verifications you will need to show at your vaccination appointment, 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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