{"id":44306,"date":"2022-01-31T16:34:59","date_gmt":"2022-02-01T00:34:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=44306"},"modified":"2022-01-31T16:34:59","modified_gmt":"2022-02-01T00:34:59","slug":"businesses-continue-to-comply-with-public-health-measures-during-surge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=44306","title":{"rendered":"Businesses Continue to Comply with Public Health Measures During Surge"},"content":{"rendered":"

10,715 New Positive Cases and 40 New Deaths Due to COVID-19 in Los Angeles County<\/em><\/h3>\n

Public Health continues to see high compliance across many different business sectors with Health Officer Order masking requirements indicating\u00a0\u00a0 support for reasonable measures that keep employees and customers safe during the pandemic.<\/p>\n

With the proliferation of the highly transmissible Omicron variant, as of January 17, employers are also now required to provide employees who work indoors in close contact with others with well-fitting medical masks, surgical masks, or higher-level respirators, such as N95 or KN95 masks. These upgraded masks are better at blocking virus particles, providing additional protection to workers and customers.<\/p>\n

Between January 21-27, Public Health conducted more than 1,400 site inspections to assess mask and vaccination compliance across a variety of L.A County businesses.\u00a0Compliance was near or above 90% among restaurants, bars, night clubs, lounges, breweries, food markets, hotels, and food manufacturing plants for customer wearing masks, employees wearing upgraded masks, and vaccination verification when applicable.\u00a0Compliance for customer and employee mask wearing was around 80% in gyms, and compliance for employee mask wearing at garment manufacturers was 74%.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur hearts go out to everyone mourning the loss of a loved one due to COVID-19,\u201d said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. \u201cWe are encouraged with the high rates of compliance at local businesses where for months customers and employees have taken responsibility for wearing masks. With thousands of new people infected each day and a variant circulating that evades some of our vaccine protection, masking, when in close contact with others, remains an important layer of protection, especially for essential workers. \u00a0While we have seen that at some large events where everyone is vaccinated or has a negative test result, like Sunday\u2019s NFC championship game, many were observed not wearing masks, low-compliance in particular settings with a critical safety measure, is not a sufficient reason to end the requirement. That would be like eliminating speed limits because so many drivers ignore them and feel that they can assess for themselves the safe speed for their travel. At some point soon, transmission will be significantly lower, and we will not need to wear our masks everywhere; unfortunately, we aren\u2019t there yet. And in order to get there as quickly as possible, we should all make our best efforts to layer in sensible protections that keep us, and those around us, safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, Public Health confirmed 40 additional deaths and 10,715 new cases of COVID-19. Today\u2019s number of cases and deaths reflect the weekend reporting delays. Of the 40 new deaths reported today, five were between the ages of 30 and 49, six were between the ages of 50-64, 15 were between the ages of 65-79, and 14 were over the age of 80 years old. Of the 40 newly reported deaths, 26 had underlying conditions. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 28,963.\u00a0<\/u>Public Health has identified a total 2,659,414 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Today\u2019s positivity rate is 8.8%.<\/p>\n

There are 3,720 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 11,067,000 individuals, with 22% of people testing positive.<\/p>\n

Public Health is reminding residents to avoid visiting the emergency room unless they need emergency medical care. Residents should not be visiting the emergency department solely to get a COVID test or for minor complaints that could be resolved through their primary care physician. Emergency room visits should be reserved for those patients who are feeling severely ill \u2013 for example, those who are short of breath \u2013 or who have serious concerns about their health and who require immediate emergency care.<\/p>\n

To keep workplaces and schools open, residents and workers are asked to:<\/p>\n