The Los Angeles Post

Los Angeles County Aligns with State on New COVID-19 Guidelines; Local Orders Will Address Enhanced Protections in High-Risk Settings

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1,073 New Positive Cases and 11 New Deaths Due to COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health will align with the following new guidance issued by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH):

  • Masking – With current COVID case and hospitalization levels, masking for the general public is based on individual preference. Vulnerable populations, including people who are elderly, immunocompromised, or have underlying health conditions, and those who have contact with them should consider masking in indoor public spaces.
  • Vaccination – On April 3, CDPH will rescind COVID-19 vaccination orders for workers at correctional, detention, and adult care facilities.
  • Isolation – Starting March 13, individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 should continue to isolate (stay home) for 5 days and may leave isolation after day 5, as long as they have been fever-free for 24 hours (without the use of fever-reducing medicines) and they either have no symptoms or their symptoms are mild and improving. A negative COVID-19 test is no longer required to leave isolation between days 6-10. The Department of Public Health strongly recommends that people test negative prior to leaving isolation between days 6-10.

Infected people should wear a well-fitting mask around others for a total of 10 days. People may now discontinue wearing a mask around others between days 6-10 if they have two sequential negative tests taken at least one day apart.

  • Quarantine – Starting March 13, it is strongly recommended but not required that a person who is a close contact to a person with a confirmed case of COVID-19 wears a well-fitting mask around others for a total of 10 days, especially in indoor settings or when near those who are at high risk for severe illness. It is recommended that close contact tests as soon as possible to determine infection status and then, if negative, test again within 3-5 days after the last known exposure.

The Department of Public Health will continue to assess the impact of COVID-19 and to protect the county’s most vulnerable residents by continuing to require robust COVID-19 case and cluster reporting by worksites, schools, and healthcare facilities to the Department of Public Health. The ongoing case and cluster reporting requirements are intended to help Public Health officials quickly identify sectors where there may be increased COVID-19 transmissions and take action to prevent unmitigated spread.

Public Health will also continue enhanced protective measures in healthcare settings. Specifically, Public Health will continue to require:

  • Healthcare workers to be vaccinated and boosted and wear a mask during patient care or working in patient care areas. This requirement will be re-assessed by the end of September 2023.

Monitoring LA County Early Alert Signals, including observing wastewater and new variant trends, and examining emergency department visit metrics will also continue in addition to COVID-19 surveillance in high-risk settings

Public Health will continue to work to provide free vaccinations, boosters, testing and treatment, regardless of immigration or insurance status.

Los Angeles County remains in the CDC’s Low COVID-19 Community Level for the eighth consecutive week. This includes a 7-day case rate of 57 new cases per 100,000 people, a decrease from the week prior.  The 7-day total for new COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 people is currently 5.9, a small decrease from last week. And the 7-day average of the proportion of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients is now 3.7%, down from the week prior.

Even with less stringent guidelines, Los Angeles County residents are strongly recommended to stay up to date on vaccines and boosters, test before gatherings and get treatment and stay home when sick. The updated bivalent booster has been shown to significantly reduce hospitalizations and deaths when compared to individuals who had been vaccinated but had not received the updated booster. During the 30-day period ending February 21, people who were vaccinated against COVID-19, yet had not received the bivalent booster, were over 3 times less likely to be hospitalized compared to people who were unvaccinated and 1.5 times more likely to be hospitalized compared to those who had the updated booster as well.

Find a location to get boosted at VaccinateLACounty.com, VacunateLosAngeles.com (en español).

Telehealth services to connect residents to COVID-19 medication can be reached at 833-540-0473, 8:00 a.m. – 8:30 p.m.; 7 days a week.

“To those who have lost a loved one to COVID-19, please accept my heartfelt sympathies during this difficult time. May their memories be a source of comfort and strength,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.Ed., Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. “As we move forward, I share with many others the goal of keeping each other safe and healthy by making sure that critical resources remain available. Because we now know so much more about COVID-19 – how it spreads, who is most vulnerable, and how we can prevent severe illness, which can also help decrease the risk for long COVID and help to avoid future health issues that may arise from a COVID infection – it remains important to work together to keep transmission low.”

Today, Public Health reported 11 additional deaths and 1,073 new positive cases. Today’s case count includes one week’s worth of cases (266) from Long Beach, as that jurisdiction has moved to weekly reporting. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 35,814. There are 604 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized.

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:

  • Los Angeles County Department of Public Health:

http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/

  • California Department of Public Health:

https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/Immunization/nCOV2019.aspx

Spanish https://espanol.cdc.gov/enes/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

For more information:

Cases through 12:00pm 3/9/2023

 

Total Cases

Laboratory Confirmed Cases

3,714,353

— Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)

3,511,779

— Long Beach

162,816

— Pasadena

39,758

Deaths

35,814

— Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)

33,983

— Long Beach

1,389

— Pasadena

442

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

– 0 to 4

110,813

– 5 to 11

281,893

– 12 to 17

276,763

– 18 to 29

754,579

– 30 to 49

1,126,799

– 50 to 64

608,753

– 65 to 79

259,395

–  over 80

90,308

–  Under Investigation

2,476

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

–  Female

1,811,185

–  Male

1,610,217

–  Other

1,768

–  Under Investigation

88,609

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

–  American Indian/Alaska Native

6,658

–  Asian

260,772

–  Black

184,063

–  Hispanic/Latino

1,504,550

–  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

17,604

–  White

486,386

–  Other

402,108

–  Under Investigation

649,638

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

–  Hospitalized (Ever)

174,219

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

–  American Indian/Alaska Native

80

–  Asian

4,410

–  Black

3,183

–  Hispanic/Latino

16,713

–  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

118

–  White

8,986

–  Other

403

–  Under Investigation

90