The Los Angeles Post

As LA County Enters Low Community Level, Residents Should Continue Safety Measures to Further Reduce Rate of Transmission

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2,705 New Positive Cases and 16 New Deaths Due to COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

With continued declines in hospitalizations and a lower case rate, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has moved LA County into the Low Community Level, reflecting minimal stress on the hospital system in LA County associated with COVID-19. However, viral transmission, with a case rate just below 200, is still high, as it represents about 2500 new cases a day.  Residents are therefore asked to continue following sensible safety measures including indoor masking and staying home and away from others if sick to help reduce the rate of transmission.

The 7-day average case count is 2,438, an 18% decline from one week ago when an average of 2,976 cases were reported.

Over the past seven days, the average number of daily COVID-positive patients in LA County hospitals was 813, about a 10% decline from one week ago when the average number of daily COVID-positive patients per day was 900.

Deaths, which typically lag hospitalizations by several weeks, remain relatively stable at an average of 14 reported deaths daily.

While many sectors are experiencing declines in clusters of cases and outbreaks, as more K-12 schools opened during August, there have been increases in the number of clusters of cases and outbreaks at schools. There have been a total of 624 clusters reported at schools since August 7 that involved more than 3,500 individuals, of which 3,355 were students. The number of reported clusters more than tripled each week throughout August, with 38 clusters reported for the week ending August 13, 135 clusters reported for the week ending August 20, and 451 clusters for the week ending August 27.

Since schools reopened, 27 outbreaks have been documented in elementary schools. Eight outbreaks are associated with Youth Sports programs, and five outbreaks have been documented in middle schools. There has been only one outbreak associated with a high school.

To help further reduce the rate of transmission at schools and in the community, residents should continue to follow simple safety measures such as staying home when sick; testing after an exposure; universal masking indoors when around others and for 10 days after an exposure; and being up to date on vaccinations.

The Omicron variant continues to account for 100% of sequenced specimens in the county, with the BA.5 subvariant of Omicron as the predominant subvariant by far. For the week ending August 13, 92% of all sequenced specimens were BA.5, a slight increase over the 90% from last week.  The CDC estimates that, across the country, as of the week ending August 27, the BA.5 subvariant accounted for 89% of specimens.

Vaccinations remain the best defense against severe COVID-19 illness, and new Pfizer and Moderna boosters that target the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of Omicron have been approved this week by both the Food and Drug Administration and CDC. Residents and workers in LA County can soon receive a new updated bivalent boosters scheduled to be available starting next week at more than 900 sites across the county. LA County expects to initially receive 170,000 of the new Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna updated boosters between September 6 and September 9 and will begin administering these free vaccines September 7 at 12 Public Health sites, 701 mobile vaccine clinics, and 245 community, pharmacy, and clinic sites.

To find a location for the new booster go to VaccinateLACounty.com.  Click on “Find a Location” and then search by “Vaccine Type”.

“I send my deepest sympathies and wishes of peace and comfort to the many families who have lost a loved one from COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “As we all look forward to celebrating Labor Day and expressing our deep appreciation to the many hard-working people throughout our county, we face the twin challenges this holiday weekend of ongoing circulation of COVID, plus very high heat across most regions of LA County.  With the extreme heat, it will make sense for many to move gatherings indoors.  When gathering indoors, you can maximize ventilation by opening windows and doors, using air filters, and setting HVAC systems to maximize fresh air exchange. It is also advisable to wear a mask if gathering indoors with individuals whose COVID status is unknown. Given the high heat we are experiencing, we ask that everyone do their part to take care of those most vulnerable by checking on your friends, family, and neighbors. Older adults, babies, and those with underlying health conditions are especially vulnerable to heat stress. Please never leave children, pets, or elderly persons in parked cars, even for a few minutes. Be sure to drink a lot of water and seek medical care for yourself or anyone experiencing symptoms of heat-related illness. There will be cooling centers open throughout the county, and many are already open. Spending a few hours in a cool setting can be lifesaving when temperatures are high. As we have fun connecting with family and friends, these steps, along with other measures, can make our celebrations safer from COVID and the extreme heat.”

Today, Public Health reported 16 additional deaths and 2,705 new positive cases. Of the 16 new deaths reported today, two people were between the ages of 30-49, three people were between the ages of 50-64, four people were between the ages of 65-79, and five people were aged 80 years or older. Information on the one death reported by the City of Long Beach can be found at longbeach.gov.

Information on the one death reported by the City of Pasadena can be found at pasadena.net. Of the 16 newly reported deaths, 14 had underlying health conditions. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 33,187.

Public Health has reported a total of 3,413,783 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Today’s positivity rate is 7.8%.

There are 788 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 12,477,349 individuals, with 24% 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

3,413,783

— Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)

3,229,026

— Long Beach

149,290

— Pasadena

35,467

Deaths

33,187

— Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)

31,445

— Long Beach

1,318

— Pasadena

424

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

– 0 to 4

102,124

– 5 to 11

272,947

– 12 to 17

266,694

– 18 to 29

707,045

– 30 to 49

1,039,337

– 50 to 64

545,767

– 65 to 79

220,868

–  over 80

71,981

–  Under Investigation

2,263

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

–  Female

1,656,383

–  Male

1,485,699

–  Other

1,503

–  Under Investigation

85,441

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

–  American Indian/Alaska Native

6,070

–  Asian

228,184

–  Black

164,874

–  Hispanic/Latino

1,401,925

–  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

16,420

–  White

436,173

–  Other

366,725

–  Under Investigation

608,655

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

–  Hospitalized (Ever)

152,454

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

–  American Indian/Alaska Native

73

–  Asian

3,976

–  Black

2,935

–  Hispanic/Latino

15,917

–  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

112

–  White

7,992

–  Other

346

–  Under Investigation

94