COVID-19 Case Numbers Remain High

29 New Deaths and 2,130 New Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) confirms 29 new deaths and 2,130 new cases of COVID-19. Of the 29 new deaths reported today, three people who passed away were over the age of 80, nine people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, seven people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, and seven people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49. Three deaths were reported by the City of Long Beach.

To date, Public Health identified 1,442,808 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 25,828 deaths.

There are 1,125 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 30% of these people are in the ICU. This is a decrease of 93 daily hospitalizations over the past week. Since late-August, daily hospitalizations continue a downward trend.

Testing results are available for more than 8,450,000 individuals with 16% of people testing positive. Today’s test positivity rate is 1.3%.

The Delta variant accounts for 100% of COVID-19 strains seen among samples sequenced in the Los Angeles County area. The Delta variant is more infectious and more efficiently transmitted between people compared with earlier COVID-19 strains and because Delta is more infectious, this variant has crowded out other strains.

Yesterday, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory committee recommended COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for specific groups of high-risk individuals including people 65 and older and those at high risk of severe illness. Once the FDA and CDC approves booster doses, L.A. County will use its extensive network of over 1,300 vaccination sites to administer doses to those eligible.

“We extend our deepest condolences to everyone who have lost a loved one to COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “With hundreds of outreach teams and promotoras fanning out across the county, we are hopeful that those not yet vaccinated are getting their questions answered and being connected to vaccination sites.  We can’t afford to be complacent with an average of 2,000 new cases  and dozens of deaths each day.  In order to be better prepared for the fall and winter, typically seasons when many viruses thrive, we need to immediately reduce COVID transmission. Given the powerful tools at our disposal that we didn’t have last fall – rapid antigen tests and highly effective vaccinations — the high number of cases is troubling and reflects the unevenness of vaccination coverage and screenings.  While implementing the latest county health officer order requires significant operational adjustments, the potential benefits are substantial and can help protect us from increased transmission of a deadly virus.  Residents and businesses across this county have been effectively working together for years to address serious threats; we witnessed this after 9/11, after the fires, and for these many months of this dangerous pandemic. In all these emergencies, people united to make sure we had the best chance to end the threat.  We need to keep at this effort if we want to end the pandemic. With easy access to both free vaccines and antigen testing, reducing risk for ourselves and everyone around us is feasible.”

L.A. County continues to offer COVID-19 vaccines at many different sites across the county that have weekend and evening hours. Anyone 12 and older living or working in L.A. County can get vaccinated against COVID-19. 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. To find a vaccination site near you, make an appointment at vaccination sites, and much more, visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish). 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.

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