L.A. County to Modify Health Officer Order on Youth Sports

6 New Deaths and 2,339 New Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

Los Angeles County will modify the Health Officer Order to update youth sports testing requirements for vaccinated and unvaccinated athletes, staff, coaches, and volunteers.

The County continues to recommend weekly testing for unvaccinated participants in youth sports. The following applies to teams and sport activities based in Los Angeles County and relaxes some screening testing:

• Indoor Moderate or High Risk Sports for children of all ages, staff, coaches and volunteers. A weekly negative test result is required for all participants who are not fully vaccinated, including children who are playing, staff, coaches, and volunteers; weekly school testing fulfills this obligation.

• Outdoor Moderate or High Risk Sports for youth 12 and older, staff, coaches and volunteers. A weekly negative test result is required for all participants 12 and older who are not fully vaccinated, including children who are playing, staff, coaches, and volunteers; weekly school testing fulfills this obligation.

• No screening testing required for children under 12 playing Outdoor Sports; weekly school testing fulfills this recommendation.

• Fully vaccinated youth participating in outdoor sports are not required to test weekly unless there is a positive case among players, coaches and/or staff.  If there is a positive case, all players, coaches, staff and volunteers (regardless of vaccination status) are required to have a weekly negative test result for two weeks from exposure to the case and must test negative prior to competitions.

These requirements may be modified based on the availability of and access to testing and will be reassessed when community transmission is no longer high.  The youth sports guidelines will be posted online later today, at: http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/docs/protocols/Reopening_YouthSports.pdf

Today, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) confirms 6 new deaths and 2,339 new cases of COVID-19. The number of cases and deaths are likely to reflect reporting delays over the weekend. Of the six new deaths reported today, one person who passed away was over the age of 80, two people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, two people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, and one person who died was between the ages of 30 and 49.  To date, Public Health identified 1,405,387 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 25,251 deaths.

There are 1,687 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Daily hospitalizations have declined for the fifth day in a row.

Testing results are available for nearly 8,110,000 individuals with 16% of people testing positive. Today’s test positivity rate is 2.4%.

“We send our deepest sympathies to the friends and families grieving the loss of a loved one to COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “We are grateful to the schools, districts, youth sport programs and parents who have worked so hard in ensuring the safety of students, teachers, athletes, and the many staff. It is very important for anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 to isolate from others and that masks are worn properly in all indoor settings, which includes spectators, coaches, and employees of youth sports regardless of vaccination status. The best protection for all student athletes 12 years and over, and for all coaches and team staff is to get vaccinated.”

Teens 12 and over can receive Pfizer vaccine at any County and city sites without an appointment. Many school districts and individual schools are offering vaccinations over the next few weeks. LAUSD, which has over 45 standing school sites, will be rolling out a mobile vaccine campaign administering vaccines at every middle and high school in its district. You can ask your school site for a vaccination schedule.

Many vaccination sites across the county, including all the County-run sites, are also offering third doses of vaccine to eligible immunocompromised people. Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status. Visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish) to find a vaccination site near you, 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.

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.

Please see additional information below: