The Los Angeles Post

Public Health Modifies Quarantine Requirement for Asymptomatic Close Contacts in the General Public

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3,351 New Positive Cases and 21 New Deaths Due to COVID-19 Reported in Los Angeles County Since Saturday

Public Health has updated the Quarantine Order to modify the quarantine requirement for asymptomatic close contacts in the general public. The updated order was effective at 12:01 am last Friday, April 15.

Regardless of vaccination status or recent history with a prior infection, asymptomatic close contacts who are not living or working in a high-risk setting, are not required to quarantine, provided they wear a highly protective mask when indoors around others, for a total of 10 days after the last contact with a person infected with COVID-19, and they test as soon as possible (at least within three to five days after their last exposure) to determine their infection status. If they test positive, they must follow Public Health’s isolation requirements.

They also must monitor themselves for 10 days following their exposure. If symptoms develop, they must test and stay home away from others and follow Public Health isolation requirements if they test positive.

Residents living in high-risk settings, including healthcare facilities, shelters, correctional facilities and adult care facilities, who are close contacts to COVID-19 cases, and are unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated, and have not been infected with COVID-19 within the prior 90 days, will need to continue to follow, at minimum, the existing quarantine orders requiring a minimum period of five  days of quarantine, the requirement for negative test to exit quarantine after day five and the requirement to mask for the full duration of the quarantine period.

The updated Quarantine Order also outlines requirements for staff in high-risk settings who were exposed to COVID-19 and are either unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated and have not been infected with COVID-19 within the prior 90 days. Staff should exclude themselves from work for at least five days after their last exposure. If permitted by their employer, their work exclusion can end after Day 5 five if symptoms are not present, and if a diagnostic specimen collected on Day 5 or later tests negative. If staff are unable to test or choose not to test, and symptoms are not present, their work exclusion can end after Day 10. Staff must wear a highly protective mask, around others, especially indoors, for a total of 10 days after the last contact with a person infected with COVID-19.

Note that administrators of these high-risk settings have the discretion to implement more protective measures that those required in the County Quarantine Order.

In addition to updating the quarantine requirements, the order revised the definition of close contact for the general public to match the State’s guidance. A “close contact” is defined as someone sharing the same indoor airspace, e.g., home, clinic waiting room, airplane, etc., for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period (for example, three individual 5-minute exposures for a total of 15 minutes) during an infected person’s (laboratory-confirmed or clinical diagnosis) infectious period.

“To the many families who have lost a family member or friend to COVID-19, we wish you peace, comfort and courage as you mourn the loss of your loved ones,” said Dr. Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Throughout the pandemic, isolation of those infected with COVID and quarantine of their close contacts has been a significant strategy for interrupting the cycle of transmission. With many residents vaccinated and/or previously infected with SARS-CoV-2, there are additional barriers to transmission that can influence appropriate mitigation measures, including isolation and quarantine guidance, during this post surge period. After reviewing the California Department of Public Health’s updated quarantine guidance, we elected to generally align our Public Health Emergency Quarantine Order with the guidance, with a key exception. With increased circulation of the highly transmissible BA.2 subvariant, and indications that those infected with BA.2 are more likely to be asymptomatic, Public Health requires, rather than recommends, that close contacts who are exempted from quarantine mask indoors for 10 days and test as soon as possible.”

Today, Public Health reported 21 additional deaths and 829 cases for Monday, 1,012 cases for Sunday, and 1,510 cases for Saturday. Of the 21 new deaths reported today, three people were between the ages of 50-64, eight were between the ages of 65-79, and 10 were aged 80 years or older. Of the 21 newly reported deaths, 19 people had underlying health conditions. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 31,872

Public Health has reported a total of 2,853,706 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Today’s positivity rate is 2.6%.

There are 221 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 11,791,000 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

Laboratory Confirmed Cases

2,853,706

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

2,699,595

— Long Beach

125,727

— Pasadena

28,384

Deaths

31,872

— Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)

30,198

— Long Beach

1,262

— Pasadena

412

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

– 0 to 4

82964

– 5 to 11

239858

– 12 to 17

234211

– 18 to 29

601728

– 30 to 49

861258

– 50 to 64

447037

– 65 to 79

173863

–  over 80

56565

–  Under Investigation

2111

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

–  Female

1373034

–  Male

1250779

–  Other

1111

–  Under Investigation

74671

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

–  American Indian/Alaska Native

4966

–  Asian

166528

–  Black

135542

–  Hispanic/Latino

1231155

–  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

13657

–  White

348811

–  Other

299319

–  Under Investigation

499617

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

–  Hospitalized (Ever)

136,882

**DATA  Under reported

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

–  American Indian/Alaska Native

73

–  Asian

3768

–  Black

2797

–  Hispanic/Latino

15524

–  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

111

–  White

7517

–  Other

313

–  Under Investigation

95