The Los Angeles Post

Sensible Safety Measures Keep Schools Safe for Students, Teachers and Staff

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587 New Positive Cases and 29 New Deaths Due to COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

Keeping community transmission low and utilizing sensible public health measures remain the most effective ways to maintain a safe environment for students, school staff, and their families.

As community transmission drops, the positivity rate, number of positive cases, and number of outbreaks at schools remain low. Of the 294,768 school COVID-19 tests conducted for the week ending March 25, 457 tests were positive, resulting in a positivity rate of 0.16%. In the month of March, outbreaks at schools also remained low, with only 5 new school-associated outbreaks (two outbreaks in elementary schools, 2 in high schools, and one in a middle school) for the week ending March 26.

Both periodic and response testing at schools support safe campuses. As families travel for Spring Break, the Los Angeles County Office of Education received 1.7 million COVID-19 at-home test kits from the California Department of Public Health to prepare for a safe return to classes for students and staff. These test kits provide free and immediate access to testing for students and staff in schools throughout the County.

School staff and families of students can contact their school or school district to learn when they will receive their test kit. It is best to test the day before returning to school after Spring Break. Also, staff or students that feel symptomatic before their return, should use these tests to determine if they have COVID-19.

All staff and students that test positive should inform their school about the result, stay home and follow isolation instructions at http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/acd/ncorona2019/covidisolation/. Parents who have questions about isolation requirements for their child can also call Public Health’s COVID-19 information hotline at (833) 540-0473 between the hours of 8 AM and 8:30 PM seven days a week.

Vaccinations and boosters remain an essential tool to protect against transmission, both at schools and in communities. 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 April, 574 school-based vaccination clinics are scheduled. Note that some school-based vaccine clinics will remain open during Spring Break, while others may change their hours. For the latest hours, go to VaccinateLACounty.com or VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish) and go to the How to Get Vaccinated webpage, or call the COVID-19 information line at (833) 540-0473 between the hours of 8 AM and 8:30 PM seven days a week.

“We continue to extend our deepest sympathies to everyone mourning the loss of a loved one from COVID,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “For several weeks, schools across the County have reported low COVID-19 case numbers and minimal outbreaks.  With the highly contagious BA.2 subvariant circulating more widely, safety measures, including upgrading masks to respirators (KN95, KF94 and N95) that provide better protection, staying home when sick, following quarantine and isolation guidelines, and being fully vaccinated and boosted, become even more critical.

By taking steps to protect the health and safety of everyone on the school campus, we help protect our communities from increased transmission. And as the highly contagious BA.2 subvariant continues to spread in the County, the best defense against severe illness and death from COVID is being up to date on vaccinations.  Given all the evidence that protection from the COVID vaccine wanes over time, getting the booster dose once eligible is critically important. And with the availability of a second booster dose for those 50 years old and older who are 4 months out from their first booster dose, there are many residents and workers that can boost their immune system to reduce their chances of getting infected, being hospitalized, and dying.”

Today, Public Health reported 29 additional deaths, and 587 new positive cases of COVID-19. Of the 21 new deaths reported today, one of the people who died was between the ages of 18-29, two people were between the ages of 30-49, four people were between the ages of 50-64, 10 were between the ages of 65-79, and 10 were aged 80 years or older. Of the 29 newly reported deaths, 21 people had underlying health conditions. Information on the two 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 31,655.

Public Health has reported a total of 2,832,706 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Note that 510 additional cases have been added to the cumulative total of positive cases due to a backlog of cases from the surge. Today’s positivity rate is 0.9%.

There are 325 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 11,684,500 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 3/28/2022

 

Total Cases

Laboratory Confirmed Cases

2,832,706

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

2,679,002

— Long Beach

125,621

— Pasadena

28,083

Deaths

31,655

— Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)

29,985

— Long Beach

1,261

— Pasadena

409

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

– 0 to 4

82377

– 5 to 11

238485

– 12 to 17

232975

– 18 to 29

596252

– 30 to 49

854252

– 50 to 64

443647

– 65 to 79

172330

–  over 80

56140

–  Under Investigation

2544

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

–  Female

1362140

–  Male

1241622

–  Other

1027

–  Under Investigation

74213

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

–  American Indian/Alaska Native

4916

–  Asian

163826

–  Black

134300

–  Hispanic/Latino

1225285

–  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

13584

–  White

343591

–  Other

297993

–  Under Investigation

495507

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

–  Hospitalized (Ever)

135,937

**DATA  Under reported

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

–  American Indian/Alaska Native

73

–  Asian

3747

–  Black

2770

–  Hispanic/Latino

15442

–  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

111

–  White

7437

–  Other

310

–  Under Investigation

95