Public Health Urges Vaccinations and Safety Precautions as COVID-19 Cases Continue to Increase; Fully Vaccinated Healthcare Workers Protected

5 New Deaths and 1,107 New Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) confirms a doubling of new cases in a week with 1,107 new cases of COVID-19.  Last Friday, Public Health reported 549 COVID-19 cases.

There are 320 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized; an increase from the 280 hospitalizations reported last Friday.

Today’s daily test positivity rate is 2.4%, an increase from last week’s rate of 1.5%.

With increased COVID-19 transmission among unvaccinated people, Public Health encourages those that are eligible for COVID-19 vaccination and not yet vaccinated, to get vaccinated without delay. It takes time before you are considered fully vaccinated. For all of the vaccines, you are only considered fully protected two weeks after all doses are complete. Vaccination is the best protection against this disease.

Anyone not fully vaccinated should take all precautions – wear a mask in indoor public settings, move social activities outdoors as much as possible, and wash your hands or use hand sanitizer frequently when outside your home.

Currently, the low case rates among healthcare workers at nursing homes and at all healthcare facilities reflects their high vaccination rates. Healthcare worker cases plummeted since they began receiving vaccinations in December 2020. During the last week of December, there were nearly 2,000 new cases of COVID-19 among healthcare workers. Last week, there were 75 new cases among healthcare workers reported across the entire county.

To date, 271 healthcare workers have tragically passed away from COVID-19. At the peak of the surge, the week of January 3, 2021, 24 healthcare workers passed away. Since mid-May, two healthcare workers have passed away from COVID-19.

Throughout the pandemic, nursing facility staff have accounted for one-fourth of healthcare worker cases. Fortunately, cases among nursing facility staff also dropped since they began receiving vaccinations. The last week of December 2020, more than 1,100 nursing facility staff tested positive for COVID-19. For the week of June 20, a total of only six nursing facility staff tested positive for COVID-19. Currently, 84% of skilled nursing facility staff are fully vaccinated.

Of the five new deaths reported today, one person that passed away was over the age of 80, one person who passed was between the ages of 50 and 64, and one person who passed was between the ages of 30 and 49.  Two deaths were reported by the City of Long Beach. To date, Public Health identified 1,255,434 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 24,530 deaths. Testing results are available for more than 7,094,000 individuals with 16% of people testing positive.

“Our hearts go to everyone who has lost a loved one, a friend, a neighbor, or a co-worker to COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “There are slightly under 4 million residents in L.A. County that are not yet vaccinated against COVID-19, and the risk of increased spread remains high among communities with lower vaccination rates. This is particularly true if there are gatherings with unvaccinated friends and family in indoor settings. The need for masking and infection control among those not yet vaccinated remains important. This Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus spreads more easily than others. With vaccinations and good prevention measures, almost all of this transmission can be prevented.”

Beginning today Friday, July 9 through next Thursday, July 15 at County-run vaccination sites, LA City sites, and St. John’s Well Child and Family Center sites, everyone 18 and older coming to get a vaccine will have an opportunity to win one of seven packages of concert tickets. Prizes will include tickets to see Celine Dion, Grupo Firma, Kane Brown, Luke Bryan, and Dan and Shay at Staples Center, and box seats to four classical concerts at the Hollywood Bowl.  Official rules and participating site locations are posted online on the Los Angeles Vaccination Sweepstakes page.

Visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish) to find a vaccination site near you, to make an appointment at vaccination sites, and much more. If you don’t have internet access, can’t use a computer, or you’re over 65, you can call 1-833-540-0473 for help finding an appointment, connecting to free transportation to and from a vaccination site, or scheduling a home-visit if you are homebound.  Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status.

COVID-19 Sector Protocols, Best Practices, COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard, COVID-19 Surveillance Interactive Dashboard, 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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