School Safety Measures Continue to Drive Down Positive Tests Among School Staff and Students

15,664 New Positive Cases and 102 New Deaths Due to COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

Schools across the county continue implementing safety measures that are helping to drive down several COVID metrics among students and staff. For the week of January 24-28, schools conducted 486,616 tests that resulted in 21,472 positive tests (with 14,872 positive tests from LAUSD). This is a 47% decrease from the 40,694 positive tests from the week prior. The test positivity rate also decreased by 37% to 4.4% compared to 7% for the week prior.

While test positivity and the number of positive tests in schools continue to decline, the number of outbreaks increased slightly.  As of January 31, there were 52 active school outbreaks, including 18 new outbreaks (14 in elementary schools, three in youth sports, and one in a high school) between January 23-29. Although the number of new outbreaks in schools rose, the number is relatively modest thanks to school-based safety measures, including masking and testing, that reduce spread.

Public Health continues working with schools across the county to implement a comprehensive strategy that includes over 900 school-based vaccine clinics scheduled for February where first, second and third doses will be available. Additionally, Public Health has begun distributing an additional 1 million home test kits this week to public, charter, and independent/private schools in areas of high need through partnerships with the LA County Office of Education and Heluna Health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has also approved an additional 615,000 professional rapid tests for LA County schools through the White House rapid test kit program and the state is delivering over 170,000 at-home test kits this week to be distributed to schools.

This week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the license for the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine after a thorough evaluation of the quality, safety, and effectiveness data by a panel of scientific and medical experts. The vaccine is now fully approved for use in people 18 and older. Since the Moderna vaccine received FDA emergency use authorization on December 18, 2020, more than 204 million doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in the US according to data from the CDC.

“We send our deepest sympathies and wishes for peace and comfort to the many families who have lost a loved one due to COVID-19,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “We hope that with full approval of the Moderna vaccine, which follows full approval a few months back of the Pfizer vaccine, residents and workers are reassured about the safety and effectiveness of the mRNA vaccines distributed in the United States.  Our county data continues to demonstrate the protections offered by vaccination and the importance of using vaccines to reduce the spread and limit the ability of virus replication that could result in problematic variants.   To date, we’re closing in on nearly one million children across all LA County who’ve safely received the vaccine. We urge parents and students to attend one of the 900 school-based vaccination clinics this month if they are not yet vaccinated or need a booster dose.”

Today, Public Health confirmed 102 additional deaths and 15,664 new cases of COVID-19. Of the 102 new deaths reported today, two people were between the ages of 30 and 49, 18 were between the ages of 50 and 64, 37 were between the ages of 65-79, and 41 were over the age of 80 years old. Of the 102 newly reported deaths, 88 had underlying conditions. Information on the four deaths reported by the City of Long Beach is available at www.LongBeach.gov To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 29,099.

Public Health has identified a total 2,683,644 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Today’s positivity rate is 8.8%.

There are 3,515 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 11,091,800 individuals, with 22% of people testing positive.

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

Adhere to masking requirements when indoors or at crowded outdoor spaces, regardless of vaccination status.

• Remain home when sick, isolate if positive and quarantine when in close contact.
• Residents are legally required to be isolated if they have a positive COVID test result and are vaccinated. Close contacts with symptoms and unvaccinated close contacts need to be quarantined.

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 for help:

Finding an appointment, connecting 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 02/01/2022
	Total Cases	NEW
Laboratory Confirmed Cases	2,683,644	15664
— Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)*	2,537,611	14168
— Long Beach	119,771	1415
— Pasadena	26,262	81
Deaths	29,099	102
— Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)	27,576	98
— Long Beach	1,141	4
— Pasadena	382	0
Age Group (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
– 0 to 4	76716
– 5 to 11	222096
– 12 to 17	218850
– 18 to 29	570503
– 30 to 49	812700
– 50 to 64	421162
– 65 to 79	161596
–  over 80	52183
–  Under Investigation	1805
Gender (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
–  Female	1288768
–  Male	1175890
–  Other	917
–  Under Investigation	72036
Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
–  American Indian/Alaska Native	4704
–  Asian	144350
–  Black	126811
–  Hispanic/Latino	1164704
–  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	13150
–  White	322150
–  Other	279776
–  Under Investigation	481966
Hospitalization (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
–  Hospitalized (Ever)	125734	**DATA  Under reported
Deaths Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
–  American Indian/Alaska Native	64
–  Asian	3505
–  Black	2505
–  Hispanic/Latino	14416
–  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	98
–  White	6677
–  Other	253
–  Under Investigation	58