The Los Angeles Post

With Revised TK-12 School Guidance Effective March 12, Layering Safety Protections Critical to Protecting Vulnerable Children, Teachers, and Staff

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1,297 New Positive Cases and 48 New Deaths Due to COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

With the state issuing the new guidance on TK-12 schools, the layering of safety protections is critical to protect vulnerable children, teachers, and staff at schools. Starting tomorrow, March 12, indoor masking at schools will no longer be required. However, the state and the county are strongly recommending indoor masking for students, teachers, and staff, regardless of vaccination status, until transmission is lower.

School districts in LA County can continue to require masking at schools and during school activities, along with other appropriate safety protections, for their school community. At campuses where masking becomes optional, Public Health encourages that information about the importance of masking is shared with all members of the school community, and that schools support all teachers, staff, and students who want to keep wearing a mask.

The county is also aligning with the state in revising isolation and quarantine requirements for TK-12 schools. Schools must continue to require COVID-19 cases to isolate, and a negative test will be required to exit isolation after day five. Masking and testing for asymptomatic students remaining at schools during their quarantine period are strongly recommended.

The revised LA County TK-12 school guidance will be posted on the Public Health website later today.

Public Health also urges parents to fully vaccinate their eligible children, as the vaccines offer the strongest protection against the virus. As of March 6, 35% of children 5-11 years old and 85% of children 12–17-year-olds have received one dose of the vaccine and 29% of 5–11-year-olds and 77% of 12–17-year-olds are fully vaccinated.

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 two and a half times more likely to be infected and five times more likely to be hospitalized when compared to those who were fully vaccinated.

To make it easier for children to get vaccinated, Public Health is working to make vaccines widely available at many school sites. For the month of March, 921 school vaccination sites are scheduled with 89% located in hard-hit community areas, including South Los Angeles (including Compton and Inglewood), Southeast Los Angeles County (including Bell, Cudahy, Hawaiian Gardens, South Gate, Huntington Park, Lakewood), the San Fernando Valley (Reseda, North Hills, Panorama City, Canoga Park, Pacoima, and Sylmar) and areas in the Antelope Valley.

Local schools are continuing to see a decline in the number of positive tests and test positivity for their students and staff. Between February 28 and March 4, over 470,000 tests were administered at K-12 schools across the county with 1,381 positive tests, resulting in a test positivity of 0.3%. There were five new school-associated outbreaks (two outbreaks in elementary schools, two in middle schools, and one in youth sports) between February 27 and March 5.

“I send my heartfelt condolences and wishes of healing to the countless people who have lost a loved one to this pandemic,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Although the County is now post-surge, Public Health cautions that community transmission is substantial and poses a risk for many individuals, including numerous people working at or attending schools.  Having children and staff fully vaccinated creates a powerful layer of protection and continuing masking while transmission is substantial adds  another level of safety for both children and staff in schools. When combined with additional safety precautions, including infection control and testing, schools can continue to offer safe environments for children, staff, and their families.”

Today, Public Health confirmed 48 additional deaths, and 1,297 new positive cases. Of the 48 new deaths reported today, five people were between the ages of 30-49, eight were between the ages of 50-64, 16 were between the ages of 65-79, and 13 were aged 80 years or older. Of the 48 newly reported deaths, 36 had underlying health conditions.  Information on the three deaths reported by the City of Long Beach and the three deaths reported by the City of Pasadena is available at www.LongBeach.gov and www.CityofPasadena.gov. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 31,225.

Public Health has reported a total of 2,810,308 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Today’s positivity rate is .9%.

There are 588 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 11,526,900 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:

For more information:

 

Total Cases

NEW

Laboratory Confirmed Cases

2,810,308

1297

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

2,657,535

1215

— Long Beach

124,938

64

— Pasadena

27,835

18

Deaths

31,225

48

— Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)

29,581

42

— Long Beach

1,236

3

— Pasadena

408

3

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

– 0 to 4

81680

– 5 to 11

236839

– 12 to 17

231134

– 18 to 29

591861

– 30 to 49

847137

– 50 to 64

439840

– 65 to 79

170620

–  over 80

55548

–  Under Investigation

2876

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

–  Female

1351037

–  Male

1231752

–  Other

1000

–  Under Investigation

73746

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

–  American Indian/Alaska Native

4901

–  Asian

162102

–  Black

133279

–  Hispanic/Latino

1219833

–  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

13579

–  White

339796

–  Other

291536

–  Under Investigation

492509

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

–  Hospitalized (Ever)

134948

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

–  American Indian/Alaska Native

72

–  Asian

3705

–  Black

2728

–  Hispanic/Latino

15255

–  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

107

–  White

7316

–  Other

304

–  Under Investigation

94