COVID-19 Prevention and Response

Toolkit for Correctional and Detention Facilities

Reporting Clusters of COVID-19 and Acute Respiratory Illness (ARI) to LAC DPH

Per the LA County Health Officer Order, sites are required to report within 24 hours when the following criteria are met.
In an epidemiologically linked group (e.g. individuals sharing common areas or living space):

  • A minimum of 5* cases (at least 20% of the group) meets case definition for acute respiratory illness within a 7-day period.
Facility-wide (e.g. residents or detainees):
  • At least 10% of the average daily population are absent and/or reporting symptoms of acute respiratory illness, with a minimum of 5* ill, within a 3-day period.
*In settings where an epidemiologically linked group is fewer than 15 people, the minimum number of cases to report is lowered to 3.

For case definitions and full reporting instructions, visit the COVID-19 and ARI Reporting Page.

How to Report
Report to LAC DPH online using the Shared Portal for Outbreak Tracking (SPOT). For assistance with reporting, see our reporting resources:

Once LAC DPH receives a cluster report, it will be reviewed to determine the risk of onsite transmission based on number of cases, where residents were housed at time of infection, staff work location and duties, and, how/if the cases interacted with each other.

If the cluster meets outbreak criteria, a public health investigator will be assigned to monitor the outbreak and will be available to provide site-specific COVID-19 prevention and control measures, infectious control recommendations and guidance as needed.

For assistance, contact communityoutbreak@ph.lacounty.gov or call 1-888-397-3993.

Note: Sites may be required to report suspected outbreaks to other agencies. Reporting to LAC DPH does not eliminate these additional reporting requirements.

Additional Resources
LA County COVID-19
Respiratory Virus Information
Icon: Get Adobe Reader
Adobe Reader

Note: PDF documents on this site were created using Adobe Acrobat 5.0 or later. Document functionality may be reduced if you are using an earlier version (4.x or less). Get the latest version of Adobe Acrobat.



Public Health has made reasonable efforts to provide accurate translation. However, no computerized translation is perfect and is not intended to replace traditional translation methods. If questions arise concerning the accuracy of the information, please refer to the English edition of the website, which is the official version.

Los Angeles County Seal: Enriching lives through effective and caring services