The Los Angeles Post

Multiple Layers of Safety Measures Continue to Keep Students, Staff, & Families Safe

by ·

1,985 New Positive Cases and 74 New Deaths Due to COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

Note: Starting this Sunday, February 27th, Public Health will no longer be reporting COVID metrics on Sundays. Reports on Monday will note the Sunday metrics separately from the Monday metrics.

Multiple layers of safety measures within county schools continue to protect students, staff, and their families from COVID-19 according to recent Public Health data.

Between February 14 and 18, over 458,000 tests were administered at K-12 schools across the county with 3,679 positive tests. This resulted in a test positivity of 0.8%, reflecting the lowest level since the return of the school session in January 2022. Furthermore, this represents a marked decline by nearly 95% in test positivity compared to the week ending January 7th when test positivity peaked at 14%.

Moreover, at K-12 schools across the county, the number of active school outbreaks currently being investigated continue to decline to a total of 38, down from 46 the week prior. This includes 13 new outbreaks (seven in elementary schools, three in middle schools, and three in youth sports) between February 13-19. Scientific evidence continues to support the concept of layering multiple protections to keep students and families safe. A Johns Hopkins University 2021 study of more than 2.1 million individuals last year showed that the risk of COVID-related illness in households increased by 38% when a child attends in-person school. However, as layers of school-based safety measures increased (upwards of seven or more measures including student masking), the increased risk went completely away. This shows that masking requirements, combined with multiple layers of school-based protections, can keep families, unvaccinated siblings, and high-risk family members safe from the transmission of the COVID-19 from schools.

Currently, the state requires indoor masking at schools as part of a comprehensive campus safety program. The state is currently reassessing mitigation strategies, including masking, and plans to announce considerations and timeframes for revisiting its school guidance, on February 28. Public Health will review the state’s assessment with plans to consider the county’s metrics and align as closely as possible. Another critical tool is childhood COVID-19 vaccinations. Public Health data shows that unvaccinated children ages 5-11 were two times more likely to be infected when compared to those who were fully vaccinated. For those ages 12-17, unvaccinated teens were almost three times more likely to be infected and nearly five times more likely to be hospitalized when compared to those who were fully vaccinated. “I send my 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. “Given the large numbers of schools and students, teachers, and staff who are on school campuses each day, the number of school outbreaks has remained relatively low across the 3,100 school campuses in LA County. When combined with our low positivity rate and rapidly declining cases among students and staff, this suggests that through our collective efforts, schools continue to successfully implement recommended strategies that limit spread – such as screening and response testing, ensuring compliance with isolation and quarantine requirements, and following recommended infection control measures like masking.”

Today, Public Health confirmed 74 additional deaths and 1,985 new cases of COVID-19. Of the 74 new deaths reported today, three people were between the ages of 30-49, 18 were between the ages of 50-64, 23 were between the ages of 65-79, and 26 were aged 80 years or older. Of the 74 newly reported deaths, 60 had underlying health 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 30,519.

Public Health has reported a total of 2,789,292 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Today’s positivity rate is 2.2%.

There are 1,150 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 11,386,400 individuals, with 22% of people testing positive.

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:

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

Please see additional information below:

Cases through 12:00pm 02/23/2022

 

Total Cases

NEW

Laboratory Confirmed Cases

2,789,292

1985

— Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)*

2,637,789

1861

— Long Beach

123,949

103

— Pasadena

27,554

21

Deaths

30,519

74

— Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)

28,913

70

— Long Beach

1,209

4

— Pasadena

397

0

Age Group (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)

– 0 to 4

80980

– 5 to 11

234760

– 12 to 17

229286

– 18 to 29

588224

– 30 to 49

841165

– 50 to 64

436589

– 65 to 79

169001

–  over 80

54926

–  Under Investigation

2858

Gender (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)

–  Female

1340614

–  Male

1222341

–  Other

964

–  Under Investigation

73870

Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)

–  American Indian/Alaska Native

4858

–  Asian

160028

–  Black

132063

–  Hispanic/Latino

1210975

–  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

13576

–  White

335930

–  Other

288719

–  Under Investigation

491640

Hospitalization (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)

–  Hospitalized (Ever)

132198

**DATA  Under reported

Deaths Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)

–  American Indian/Alaska Native

69

–  Asian

3627

–  Black

2657

–  Hispanic/Latino

14966

–  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

104

–  White

7114

–  Other

292

–  Under Investigation

84