Businesses Continue to Comply with Public Health Measures During Surge

10,715 New Positive Cases and 40 New Deaths Due to COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

Public Health continues to see high compliance across many different business sectors with Health Officer Order masking requirements indicating   support for reasonable measures that keep employees and customers safe during the pandemic.

With the proliferation of the highly transmissible Omicron variant, as of January 17, employers are also now required to provide employees who work indoors in close contact with others with well-fitting medical masks, surgical masks, or higher-level respirators, such as N95 or KN95 masks. These upgraded masks are better at blocking virus particles, providing additional protection to workers and customers.

Between January 21-27, Public Health conducted more than 1,400 site inspections to assess mask and vaccination compliance across a variety of L.A County businesses. Compliance was near or above 90% among restaurants, bars, night clubs, lounges, breweries, food markets, hotels, and food manufacturing plants for customer wearing masks, employees wearing upgraded masks, and vaccination verification when applicable. Compliance for customer and employee mask wearing was around 80% in gyms, and compliance for employee mask wearing at garment manufacturers was 74%.

“Our hearts go out to everyone mourning the loss of a loved one due to COVID-19,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “We are encouraged with the high rates of compliance at local businesses where for months customers and employees have taken responsibility for wearing masks. With thousands of new people infected each day and a variant circulating that evades some of our vaccine protection, masking, when in close contact with others, remains an important layer of protection, especially for essential workers.  While we have seen that at some large events where everyone is vaccinated or has a negative test result, like Sunday’s NFC championship game, many were observed not wearing masks, low-compliance in particular settings with a critical safety measure, is not a sufficient reason to end the requirement. That would be like eliminating speed limits because so many drivers ignore them and feel that they can assess for themselves the safe speed for their travel. At some point soon, transmission will be significantly lower, and we will not need to wear our masks everywhere; unfortunately, we aren’t there yet. And in order to get there as quickly as possible, we should all make our best efforts to layer in sensible protections that keep us, and those around us, safe.”

Today, Public Health confirmed 40 additional deaths and 10,715 new cases of COVID-19. Today’s number of cases and deaths reflect the weekend reporting delays. Of the 40 new deaths reported today, five were between the ages of 30 and 49, six were between the ages of 50-64, 15 were between the ages of 65-79, and 14 were over the age of 80 years old. Of the 40 newly reported deaths, 26 had underlying conditions. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 28,963. Public Health has identified a total 2,659,414 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Today’s positivity rate is 8.8%.

There are 3,720 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 11,067,000 individuals, with 22% of people testing positive.

Public Health is reminding residents to avoid visiting the emergency room unless they need emergency medical care. Residents should not be visiting the emergency department solely to get a COVID test or for minor complaints that could be resolved through their primary care physician. Emergency room visits should be reserved for those patients who are feeling severely ill – for example, those who are short of breath – or who have serious concerns about their health and who require immediate emergency care.

To keep workplaces and schools open, residents and workers are asked to:

• Get tested to help reduce the spread, especially if you traveled for the holidays, have had a possible exposure, or have symptoms, or are gathering with people not in your household
• Adhere to masking requirements when indoors or at crowded outdoor spaces, regardless of vaccination status

Residents are legally required to be isolated if they have a positive COVID test result. Also, their vaccinated close contacts with symptoms, and unvaccinated close contacts, need to quarantine.

For updated isolation and quarantine guidance, please visit www.publichealth.lacounty.gov

COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective and are recommended for everyone 5 years old and older to help protect against COVID-19. Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status. Appointments are not needed at all Public Health vaccination sites and many community sites where first, second, and third doses are available.

 To find a vaccination site near you, or to make an appointment, please visit:

www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) or www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish).

If you need assistance, you can also call 1-833-540-0473, seven days a week, from 8  AM to 830 PM for help:

Finding an appointment

Connect to free transportation to and from a vaccination site, or

Schedule a home visit if you are homebound.

For more information regarding COVID-19 in LA County you can also visit the Public Health website at www.publichealth.lacounty.gov here you will find information on:

COVID-19 sector protocols & best practices,

COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboards, and

COVID-19 Surveillance Interactive and, Recovery Dashboards

 Please see additional information below:

Cases through 12:00pm 01/30/2022
	Total Cases	NEW
Laboratory Confirmed Cases	2,659,414	10715
— Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)*	2,515,714	10655
— Long Beach	117,613	0
— Pasadena	26,087	60
Deaths	28,963	40
— Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)	27,452	40
— Long Beach	1,129	0
— Pasadena	382	0
Age Group (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
– 0 to 4	75758
– 5 to 11	219583
– 12 to 17	216392
– 18 to 29	566469
– 30 to 49	806196
– 50 to 64	417748
– 65 to 79	160140
–  over 80	51684
–  Under Investigation	1744
Gender (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
–  Female	1277683
–  Male	1166006
–  Other	913
–  Under Investigation	71112
Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
–  American Indian/Alaska Native	4666
–  Asian	142934
–  Black	126017
–  Hispanic/Latino	1156032
–  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	13024
–  White	319325
–  Other	276916
–  Under Investigation	476800
Hospitalization (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
–  Hospitalized (Ever)	124678	**DATA  Under reported
Deaths Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
–  American Indian/Alaska Native	64
–  Asian	3495
–  Black	2490
–  Hispanic/Latino	14372
–  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	98
–  White	6632
–  Other	244
–  Under Investigation	57