To Continue Recent Decline, Residents Encouraged to Layer Safety Precautions at Upcoming Gatherings

21,709 New Positive Cases and 73 New Deaths Due to COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

Multiple COVID metrics continue to fall, including cases, daily positivity rate, and hospitalizations. Public Health is reporting 21,709 new cases today, down 45% from one week ago when we reported 39,117 new cases. The daily positivity rate has also fallen below 10% for the first time since December 23^rd and the number of people currently hospitalized is below 4,000 for the first time since January 12^th. Sadly, deaths remain at an elevated level with 73 new deaths reported today.

Because transmission still remains very high, residents are encouraged to layer common sense safety precautions at upcoming gatherings, including watching the NFC Championship game on Sunday and Lunar New Year celebrations next week.

Residents should not host or go to gatherings if they are sick. When possible, test before gathering indoors with others; this is especially important when getting together with individuals who are unvaccinated or at high risk for severe illness from COVID. Hosting activities outdoors is always safer, especially while eating and drinking.  In crowded indoor settings, wearing a well-fitting, high quality mask adds an important layer of protection.

Additionally, all those attending the NFC Championship game must be fully vaccinated or provide proof of a negative test. If attendees are providing a negative test result, it must be either a PCR test taken within 2 days of the event or an antigen test taken within 1 day of the event. Attendees are also required to wear masks, regardless of vaccination status, at the event, except while actively eating and drinking.

“With the increased number of people dying from COVID-19, so many loved ones are heartbroken.  I send my heartfelt condolences to everyone in mourning,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “With multiple opportunities for gathering and celebrating in the coming days, including cheering on the LA Rams, following sensible safety measures will allow us to continue our recent decline. For residents who are at high-risk, including those older, immunocompromised, or with underlying health conditions, gatherings can be especially risky given the still high rates of transmission. If you are going to gather, layering on as many protections as possible will provide good defense from possible exposure to the virus. This includes getting tested before the gathering, moving activities outdoors where possible, and keeping that mask on when indoors or in crowded places. . And go Rams!”

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) today released the latest data on COVID-19.

• 21,709 new COVID-19 cases (2,631,994 cases to date)
• 73 new deaths due to COVID-19 (28,886 deaths to date)
• 3,998 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19
• More than 11,033,000 individuals tested; 22% of people tested positive to date

Data is by date reported by DPH, but does not necessarily represent the date of testing, hospitalization, or death.

*Number reflects an undercount due to a lag from weekend reporting.

A wide range of data and dashboards on COVID-19 from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health are available on the Public Health website at http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov including:

• COVID-19 Daily Data (cases, deaths, testing, testing positivity rate, mortality rate, and hospitalizations)
• Gender, Age, Race/Ethnicity and City/Community Cases and Deaths
• Recovery Metrics
• Contract Tracing Metrics
• Skilled Nursing Facility Metrics
• Citations due to Health Officer Order Noncompliance
• Outbreaks:
  • Residential Congregate Sessions
  • Non-Residential Settings
  • Homeless Service Settings

Always check with trusted sources for the latest accurate information about novel coronavirus:

• Los Angeles County Department of Public Health: http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/
• California Department of Public Health:
• https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/Immunization/nCOV2019.aspx
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
• Spanish https://espanol.cdc.gov/enes/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
• World Health Organization https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus
• LA County residents can also call 2-1-1

Please see additional information below:

	Total Cases
Laboratory Confirmed Cases	2,631,994
— Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)*	2,488,540
— Long Beach	117,613
— Pasadena	25,841
Deaths	28,886
— Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)	27,375
— Long Beach	1,129
— Pasadena	382
Age Group (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
– 0 to 4	74662
– 5 to 11	216363
– 12 to 17	213489
– 18 to 29	561652
– 30 to 49	797803
– 50 to 64	413505
– 65 to 79	158254
–  over 80	51095
–  Under Investigation	1717
Gender (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
–  Female	1263602
–  Male	1153883
–  Other	907
–  Under Investigation	70148
Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
–  American Indian/Alaska Native	4613
–  Asian	141358
–  Black	125004
–  Hispanic/Latino	1144659
–  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	12867
–  White	316483
–  Other	273275
–  Under Investigation	470281
Hospitalization (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
–  Hospitalized (Ever)	124114
Deaths Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
–  American Indian/Alaska Native	64
–  Asian	3490
–  Black	2483
–  Hispanic/Latino	14332
–  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	97
–  White	6614
–  Other	238
–  Under Investigation	57