As Cases No Longer Decline, Wastewater Surveillance Critical to LA County Preparedness Plan - 1,167 New Positive Cases and 16 New Deaths Due to COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

With the number of new cases no longer declining, Public Health continues monitoring the SARS-CoV-2 viral loads in several wastewater samples to help foreshadow sustained increases or decreases in transmission. Wastewater surveillance is a community-level approach that monitors disease patterns using biomarkers excreted in human urine and feces and collected in sewers which can identify the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus shed by both symptomatic and asymptomatic people. Because this surveillance can detect increases in the presence of the virus across large geographic areas, the COVID-19 wastewater signal may be a leading indicator that precedes trends in confirmed cases and hospitalizations.

Wastewater collection and testing are being conducted at least three times per week, by three agencies across the County: LA City Sanitation and Environment, LA County Sanitation Districts, and the Las Virgenes Municipal Water Districts.

Recent data from the Los Angeles County Sanitation District, which covers the areas of South, Southeast and East Los Angeles, does not show, as of March 16, a significant concentration of SARS-CoV-2 in the wastewater for this area.

A second agency, the Los Angeles City Sanitation and Environment Agency, which covers portions of central LA County, parts of the San Fernando Valley, and West Los Angeles, showed small increases in the concentration of virus the first two weeks of March, which will need close monitoring over the next couple of weeks to determine if this is the beginning of an upward trend.

A third wastewater source is from the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District in the West San Fernando Valley. This surveillance data also shows a small uptick in virus concentration in mid-March. However, the increase is too small to make definitive conclusions about whether these communities are also beginning to see more virus transmission.

“For everyone mourning the loss of a loved one from COVID-19, we extend our deepest sympathies,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Our Early Alert Signals help us identify areas of concern early on so that we can realign our strategies in order to slow COVID-19 transmission or prevent or contain outbreaks. With multiple metrics reviewed each week, including concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater, it is much easier to take appropriate actions to both try and prevent stress on the healthcare system and the tragic consequences associated with severe illness.”

Today, Public Health reported 16 additional deaths, and 1,167 new positive cases of COVID-19. Of the 16 new deaths reported today, three people were between the ages of 50-64, five were between the ages of 65-79, and eight were aged 80 years or older. Of the 16 newly reported deaths, 11 people had underlying health conditions. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 31,683.

Public Health has reported a total of 2,834,317 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Today’s positivity rate is 0.9%.

There are 287 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 11,697,100 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:

COVID-19 Daily Data (cases, deaths, testing, testing positivity rate, mortality rate, and hospitalizations)
Gender, Age, Race/Ethnicity and City/Community Cases and Deaths
Recovery Metrics
Contact Tracing Metrics
Skilled Nursing Facility Metrics
Citations due to Health Officer Order Noncompliance
Outbreaks:

Residential Congregate Settings
Non-Residential Settings
Homeless Service Settings

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
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
Spanish https://espanol.cdc.gov/enes/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
World Health Organization https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus
LA County residents can also call 2-1-1

For more information:

Cases through 12:00pm 3/31/2022
	Total Cases
Laboratory Confirmed Cases	2,834,317
-- Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)*	2,680,543
-- Long Beach	125,649
-- Pasadena	28,125
Deaths	31,683
-- Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)	30,010
-- Long Beach	1,261
-- Pasadena	412
Age Group (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- 0 to 4	82419
- 5 to 11	238651
- 12 to 17	233099
- 18 to 29	596840
- 30 to 49	854857
- 50 to 64	443946
- 65 to 79	172463
- over 80	56173
- Under Investigation	2095
Gender (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- Female	1363083
- Male	1242406
- Other	1031
- Under Investigation	74023
Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- American Indian/Alaska Native	4916
- Asian	164126
- Black	134457
- Hispanic/Latino	1226079
- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	13590
- White	344177
- Other	297695
- Under Investigation	495503
Hospitalization (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- Hospitalized (Ever)	135,955
Deaths Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- American Indian/Alaska Native	73
- Asian	3751
- Black	2771
- Hispanic/Latino	15453
- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	111
- White	7446
- Other	310
- Under Investigation	95
CITY / COMMUNITY**	Cases
City of Agoura Hills	4146
City of Alhambra	16815
City of Arcadia	7986
City of Artesia	4151
City of Avalon	62
City of Azusa	13677
City of Baldwin Park	22819
City of Bell	13817
City of Bell Gardens	14121
City of Bellflower	23232
City of Beverly Hills	8271
City of Bradbury	65
City of Burbank	22153
City of Calabasas	3932
City of Carson	25392
City of Cerritos	8350
City of Claremont	6607
City of Commerce*	4508
City of Compton	33019
City of Covina	14621
City of Cudahy	9986
City of Culver City	7343
City of Diamond Bar	9107
City of Downey	35761
City of Duarte	5143
City of El Monte	32900
City of El Segundo	2763
City of Gardena	16156
City of Glendale	44154
City of Glendora	11720
City of Hawaiian Gardens	4161
City of Hawthorne	22457
City of Hermosa Beach	3282
City of Hidden Hills	259
City of Huntington Park	21964
City of Industry	398
City of Inglewood	29228
City of Irwindale	534
City of La Canada Flintridge	2847
City of La Habra Heights	162
City of La Mirada	10397
City of La Puente	12641
City of La Verne	7036
City of Lakewood	18867
City of Lancaster*	50674
City of Lawndale	8050
City of Lomita	4262
City of Lynwood*	24714
City of Malibu	2084
City of Manhattan Beach	4922
City of Maywood	10534
City of Monrovia	8211
City of Montebello	19145
City of Monterey Park	11450
City of Norwalk	33104
City of Palmdale	52801
City of Palos Verdes Estates	1496
City of Paramount	18877
City of Pico Rivera	20900
City of Pomona	51823
City of Rancho Palos Verdes	4838
City of Redondo Beach	9919
City of Rolling Hills	187
City of Rolling Hills Estates	982
City of Rosemead	10740
City of San Dimas*	8023
City of San Fernando	10406
City of San Gabriel	7554
City of San Marino	1412
City of Santa Clarita	53737
City of Santa Fe Springs	6337
City of Santa Monica	16936
City of Sierra Madre	1518
City of Signal Hill	2829
City of South El Monte	6555
City of South Gate	38272
City of South Pasadena	3970
City of Temple City	6161
City of Torrance	22658
City of Vernon	308
City of Walnut	4844
City of West Covina	29128
City of West Hollywood	7926
City of Westlake Village	273
City of Whittier	23610
Los Angeles	1167027
Los Angeles - Adams-Normandie	2599
Los Angeles - Alsace	3529
Los Angeles - Angeles National Forest	6
Los Angeles - Angelino Heights	626
Los Angeles - Arleta	13592
Los Angeles - Atwater Village	3512
Los Angeles - Baldwin Hills	7426
Los Angeles - Bel Air	1464
Los Angeles - Beverly Crest	2329
Los Angeles - Beverlywood	3002
Los Angeles - Boyle Heights*	33181
Los Angeles - Brentwood	5480
Los Angeles - Brookside	97
Los Angeles - Cadillac-Corning	1820
Los Angeles - Canoga Park	20018
Los Angeles - Carthay	2877
Los Angeles - Central	14829
Los Angeles - Century City	2316
Los Angeles - Century Palms/Cove	13451
Los Angeles - Chatsworth	9253
Los Angeles - Cheviot Hills	1612
Los Angeles - Chinatown	1965
Los Angeles - Cloverdale/Cochran	4024
Los Angeles - Country Club Park	3632
Los Angeles - Crenshaw District	3953
Los Angeles - Crestview	2843
Los Angeles - Del Rey	5926
Los Angeles - Downtown*	11698
Los Angeles - Eagle Rock	9055
Los Angeles - East Hollywood	7283
Los Angeles - Echo Park	3310
Los Angeles - El Sereno	13215
Los Angeles - Elysian Park	1357
Los Angeles - Elysian Valley	2705
Los Angeles - Encino	10241
Los Angeles - Exposition	971
Los Angeles - Exposition Park	14307
Los Angeles - Faircrest Heights	885
Los Angeles - Figueroa Park Square	3019
Los Angeles - Florence-Firestone	19418
Los Angeles - Glassell Park	7966
Los Angeles - Gramercy Place	3174
Los Angeles - Granada Hills	15907
Los Angeles - Green Meadows	8507
Los Angeles - Hancock Park	3328
Los Angeles - Harbor City	6951
Los Angeles - Harbor Gateway	12099
Los Angeles - Harbor Pines	453
Los Angeles - Harvard Heights	5136
Los Angeles - Harvard Park	14918
Los Angeles - Highland Park	12866
Los Angeles - Historic Filipinotown	4249
Los Angeles - Hollywood	15882
Los Angeles - Hollywood Hills	5173
Los Angeles - Hyde Park	9180
Los Angeles - Jefferson Park	2476
Los Angeles - Koreatown	12900
Los Angeles - Lafayette Square	1231
Los Angeles - Lake Balboa	12161
Los Angeles - Lakeview Terrace	4578
Los Angeles - Leimert Park	4218
Los Angeles - Lincoln Heights	10038
Los Angeles - Little Armenia	2425
Los Angeles - Little Bangladesh	6798
Los Angeles - Little Tokyo	1082
Los Angeles - Longwood	1315
Los Angeles - Los Feliz	3742
Los Angeles - Manchester Square	2376
Los Angeles - Mandeville Canyon	505
Los Angeles - Mar Vista	7202
Los Angeles - Marina Peninsula	648
Los Angeles - Melrose	19942
Los Angeles - Mid-city	3388
Los Angeles - Miracle Mile	3376
Los Angeles - Mission Hills	9365
Los Angeles - Mt. Washington	6323
Los Angeles - North Hills	19909
Los Angeles - North Hollywood	45909
Los Angeles - Northridge	18953
Los Angeles - Pacific Palisades	3268
Los Angeles - Pacoima	31975
Los Angeles - Palisades Highlands	604
Los Angeles - Palms	7846
Los Angeles - Panorama City	26959
Los Angeles - Park La Brea	2221
Los Angeles - Pico-Union	13816
Los Angeles - Playa Del Rey	404
Los Angeles - Playa Vista	2213
Los Angeles - Porter Ranch	7133
Los Angeles - Rancho Park	1393
Los Angeles - Regent Square	633
Los Angeles - Reseda	24516
Los Angeles - Reseda Ranch	1402
Los Angeles - Reynier Village	854
Los Angeles - San Pedro*	19450
Los Angeles - Shadow Hills	970
Los Angeles - Sherman Oaks	18590
Los Angeles - Silverlake	9465
Los Angeles - South Carthay	2268
Los Angeles - South Park	14809
Los Angeles - St Elmo Village	1527
Los Angeles - Studio City	4548
Los Angeles - Sun Valley	18706
Los Angeles - Sunland	5061
Los Angeles - Sycamore Square	112
Los Angeles - Sylmar*	33393
Los Angeles - Tarzana	7617
Los Angeles - Temple-Beaudry	10934
Los Angeles - Thai Town	2180
Los Angeles - Toluca Lake	1666
Los Angeles - Toluca Terrace	360
Los Angeles - Toluca Woods	318
Los Angeles - Tujunga	6688
Los Angeles - University Hills	706
Los Angeles - University Park	8997
Los Angeles - Valley Glen	8706
Los Angeles - Valley Village	5901
Los Angeles - Van Nuys*	30349
Los Angeles - Venice	6461
Los Angeles - Vermont Knolls	6151
Los Angeles - Vermont Square	3108
Los Angeles - Vermont Vista	15498
Los Angeles - Vernon Central	21723
Los Angeles - Victoria Park	2288
Los Angeles - View Heights	742
Los Angeles - Watts	16213
Los Angeles - Wellington Square	1404
Los Angeles - West Adams	8674
Los Angeles - West Hills	8665
Los Angeles - West Los Angeles	7429
Los Angeles - West Vernon	20308
Los Angeles - Westchester	8661
Los Angeles - Westlake	17069
Los Angeles - Westwood	9608
Los Angeles - Wholesale District*	16447
Los Angeles - Wilmington	19295
Los Angeles - Wilshire Center	12928
Los Angeles - Winnetka	15226
Los Angeles - Woodland Hills	14411
Unincorporated - Acton	1513
Unincorporated - Agua Dulce	779
Unincorporated - Altadena	8332
Unincorporated - Anaverde	324
Unincorporated - Angeles National Forest	72
Unincorporated - Arcadia	1437
Unincorporated - Athens-Westmont	14202
Unincorporated - Athens Village	2268
Unincorporated - Avocado Heights	2202
Unincorporated - Azusa	4950
Unincorporated - Bassett	4776
Unincorporated - Bouquet Canyon	149
Unincorporated - Bradbury	70
Unincorporated - Canyon Country	2587
Unincorporated - Castaic*	7102
Unincorporated - Cerritos	136
Unincorporated - Charter Oak	2
Unincorporated - Claremont	99
Unincorporated - Covina	4769
Unincorporated - Covina (Charter Oak)	3581
Unincorporated - Del Aire	873
Unincorporated - Del Rey	89
Unincorporated - Del Sur	536
Unincorporated - Desert View Highlands	752
Unincorporated - Duarte	1512
Unincorporated - East Covina	76
Unincorporated - East La Mirada	1204
Unincorporated - East Lancaster	37
Unincorporated - East Los Angeles	47858
Unincorporated - East Pasadena	324
Unincorporated - East Rancho Dominguez	5093
Unincorporated - East Whittier	1065
Unincorporated - El Camino Village	1858
Unincorporated - El Monte	51
Unincorporated - Elizabeth Lake	205
Unincorporated - Florence-Firestone	26192
Unincorporated - Franklin Canyon	1
Unincorporated - Glendora	167
Unincorporated - Hacienda Heights	11671
Unincorporated - Harbor Gateway	4
Unincorporated - Hawthorne	600
Unincorporated - Hi Vista	131
Unincorporated - Kagel/Lopez Canyons	519
Unincorporated - La Crescenta-Montrose	2855
Unincorporated - La Habra Heights	17
Unincorporated - La Rambla	582
Unincorporated - La Verne*	495
Unincorporated - Ladera Heights	1256
Unincorporated - Lake Hughes	147
Unincorporated - Lake Los Angeles	3438
Unincorporated - Lake Manor	339
Unincorporated - Lakewood	1
Unincorporated - Lennox	6403
Unincorporated - Leona Valley	259
Unincorporated - Littlerock	1186
Unincorporated - Littlerock/Juniper Hills	277
Unincorporated - Littlerock/Pearblossom	1039
Unincorporated - Llano	101
Unincorporated - Marina del Rey	1646
Unincorporated - Miracle Mile	0
Unincorporated - Monrovia	862
Unincorporated - Newhall	87
Unincorporated - North Lancaster	339
Unincorporated - North Whittier	2366
Unincorporated - Northeast San Gabriel	4020
Unincorporated - Padua Hills	26
Unincorporated - Palmdale	213
Unincorporated - Palos Verdes Peninsula	66
Unincorporated - Pearblossom/Llano	319
Unincorporated - Pellissier Village	296
Unincorporated - Placerita Canyon	15
Unincorporated - Pomona	139
Unincorporated - Quartz Hill	3094
Unincorporated - Rancho Dominguez	923
Unincorporated - Roosevelt	217
Unincorporated - Rosewood	394
Unincorporated - Rosewood/East Gardena	407
Unincorporated - Rosewood/West Rancho Dominguez	1075
Unincorporated - Rowland Heights	8714
Unincorporated - San Clemente Island	0
Unincorporated - San Francisquito Canyon/Bouquet Canyon	34
Unincorporated - San Jose Hills	6390
Unincorporated - San Pasqual	65
Unincorporated - Sand Canyon	48
Unincorporated - Santa Catalina Island	613
Unincorporated - Santa Monica Mountains*	2758
Unincorporated - Saugus	310
Unincorporated - Saugus/Canyon Country	89
Unincorporated - South Antelope Valley	88
Unincorporated - South El Monte	624
Unincorporated - South San Gabriel	2017
Unincorporated - South Whittier	17138
Unincorporated - Southeast Antelope Valley	185
Unincorporated - Stevenson Ranch	4017
Unincorporated - Sun Village	1802
Unincorporated - Sunrise Village	422
Unincorporated - Twin Lakes/Oat Mountain	304
Unincorporated - Val Verde	831
Unincorporated - Valencia	671
Unincorporated - Valinda	7442
Unincorporated - View Park/Windsor Hills	2433
Unincorporated - Walnut Park	6069
Unincorporated - West Antelope Valley	134
Unincorporated - West Carson	5491
Unincorporated - West Chatsworth	4
Unincorporated - West LA	551
Unincorporated - West Puente Valley	3215
Unincorporated - West Rancho Dominguez	385
Unincorporated - West Whittier/Los Nietos	8208
Unincorporated - Westfield/Academy Hills	163
Unincorporated - Westhills	127
Unincorporated - White Fence Farms	724
Unincorporated - Whittier	731
Unincorporated - Whittier Narrows	64
Unincorporated - Willowbrook	13713
Unincorporated - Wiseburn	1408
- Under Investigation	67972

#####