The Los Angeles Post

Hospitalizations Continue to Decline, Reducing Stress on Healthcare System

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1,136 New Positive Cases Reported on Sunday, 291 New Positive Cases Reported Today, and 40 New Deaths Due to COVID-19 in Los Angeles County for Sunday and Today

Hospitalizations in L.A. County continue to decline, reducing stress on the healthcare system. This progress reflects the lower rate of COVID-19 transmission in the community and is providing much needed relief to healthcare workers who are at elevated risk.

Currently, 491 people are hospitalized, representing a 32% decrease from last Monday when there were 731 people hospitalized with COVID-19 and the first time L.A. County has fewer than 500 people hospitalized since July 17, 2021. The seven-day average of new daily admissions of people with COVID-19 decreased by 38%, from 100 patients one week ago to 62 admissions today. Also, just 5% of COVID positive hospitalized patients are currently in the ICU.

Cases among healthcare workers are also decreasing. Between February 27 and March 5, Public Health reported a total of 80 new positive cases among healthcare workers; this is a decrease of 93% from the week of December 26, when 1,205 positive cases were reported.

Given the elevated risk among patients and healthcare workers, several safety requirements remain in place at healthcare facilities, including the requirement that everyone wear a mask, regardless of vaccination status. For the highest level of protection, respirators such as a N95, KN95 and KF94 that fit well and provide a tight seal on the face are better than a cloth mask or a medical mask.

Additionally, all staff at healthcare facilities are required to be vaccinated and boosted, as the vaccines continue to provide the best protection against severe illness. Currently, unvaccinated people are 5 times more likely to be admitted to the hospital compared to those fully vaccinated without boosters and 11 times more likely than residents who are vaccinated and boosted. Unvaccinated people are also 15 more likely to die from COVID-19 than fully vaccinated individuals regardless of their booster status.

“Our hearts go out to everyone mourning the loss of a loved one as residents continue to become seriously ill and pass away from COVID,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Our county is in a much better place than a few months ago at the peak of the surge when more than 4,800 people were hospitalized with COVID-19. The declines reflect decreases in community transmission and have resulted in reduced stress across our health care system allowing health care providers to return to providing a full range of essential prevention and treatment services.  Keeping transmission as low as possible is key to protecting both our health care system and vulnerable residents; this will require a willingness to continue sensible protections that dampen spread of the virus. While masking indoors is no longer required, given continued substantial transmission, wearing masks when in close contact with others in public spaces, remains a very important layer of protection, as is being fully vaccinated and boosted.”

Public Health reported 1,136 new positive cases on Sunday, with an additional 291 positive cases today, and 40 new deaths for Sunday and today. Today’s case and death numbers reflect delays in weekend reporting.  Of the 40 new deaths reported today, three people were between the ages of 30-49, four were between the ages of 50-64, 11 were between the ages of 65-79, and 22 were aged 80 years or older. Of the 40 newly reported deaths, 31 had underlying health conditions. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 31,315.

Public Health has reported a total of 2,813,689 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Note that 1,706 cases have been added to the cumulative total of positive cases due to a backlog of cases not reported during the surge from Sterling Pathology Labs. Today’s positivity rate is 0.6%.

There are 491 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 11,552,500 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:

Cases through 12:00pm 3/13/2022

 

Total Cases

NEW

Laboratory Confirmed Cases

2,813,689

1427

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

2,660,845

1413

— Long Beach

124,980

0

— Pasadena

27,864

14

Deaths

31,315

40

— Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)

29,661

40

— Long Beach

1,246

0

— Pasadena

408

0

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

– 0 to 4

81786

– 5 to 11

237090

– 12 to 17

231394

– 18 to 29

592506

– 30 to 49

848174

– 50 to 64

440452

– 65 to 79

170907

–  over 80

55634

–  Under Investigation

2902

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

–  Female

1352765

–  Male

1233305

–  Other

1002

–  Under Investigation

73773

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

–  American Indian/Alaska Native

4905

–  Asian

162369

–  Black

133423

–  Hispanic/Latino

1220724

–  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

13574

–  White

340260

–  Other

291865

–  Under Investigation

493725

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

–  Hospitalized (Ever)

135,273

**DATA  Under reported

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

–  American Indian/Alaska Native

72

–  Asian

3716

–  Black

2737

–  Hispanic/Latino

15294

–  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

107

–  White

7336

–  Other

305

–  Under Investigation

94