Safety Measures Recommended for Fourth of July Weekend as Cases Increase and Several Early Alert Signals Move to High Concern - 7,324 New Positive Cases and 10 New Deaths Due to COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

Public Health is continuing to track the impact of the pandemic in LA County using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID-19 Community Levels framework and the County’s Early Alert Signals.

Currently, the county remains at the CDC designated COVID-19 Medium Community Level. However, there are increasing concerns about the impact of new Omicron sub-variants on transmission and hospitalizations that could result in the County moving into the High Community Level designation sometime later this summer.

Our seven-day case rate is currently at 326 cases per week per 100,000 people, an increase from last week when the case rate was 307.

The first of two hospital metrics in the CDC Community Levels Framework is the seven-day total of new hospital admissions per 100,000, which rose this past week to 8.1 admissions per 100,000 people. This is a 56% increase compared to one month ago. The second hospital metric, the seven-day average for the proportion of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients, also increased this past week to 4.2%.

If the county moves into the CDC designated High Community Level and remains there for two consecutive weeks, the county would implement a universal indoor masking requirement for everyone age 2 and older in LA County as a safety measure aligned with the CDC framework. The safety measure would remain in effect until the county returned to the CDC Medium Community Level designation, or lower, for two consecutive weeks.

It’s important to note that Public Health can’t predict with certainty what the future hospitalization trend will look like. Hospitalizations could level off or begin to decline. With the continued proliferation of new Omicron subvariants, it is very difficult to accurately predict the rate of hospitalizations, so Public Health will continue to closely monitor the CDC metrics.

Because hospitalizations are a lagging indicator, it is important to also track other metrics that indicate areas of concern and/or risk. Our Early Alert signals track both community and sector specific pandemic activity. As a reminder, school outbreaks will not be tracked over the summer since schools are closed.

Six of the seven Early Alert metrics Public Health are tracking continue to convey cause for Medium or High Concern. Moreover, in the past week, four Early Alert Signals moved upward in the level of concern: The case rate in the lowest income areas and the number of new outbreaks at Skilled Nursing Facilities per week, both moved up to High Concern. The number of new outbreaks in settings for People Experiencing Homelessness is now at Medium Concern. And the number of worksite clusters increased, moving from Medium to High Concern for the first time since Public Health started tracking this metric in early March.

There was also an uptick in the percentage of Emergency Department Visits. The only measure indicating Low Concern is the number of sewer systems with a two-fold increase in viral load.

When a sector-specific metric moves up in level of concern, additional safety measures are implemented, and remain in place until the level of concern has dropped for two weeks. For example, although there has been some fluctuation in the elevated level of concerns at nursing homes based on their outbreak numbers, and they move between Medium and High Concern for a couple of weeks now, the enhanced protection measures that were put in place under High Concern are still in place - requiring staff to wear N95 respirators at all times in the facility, conducting routine testing twice weekly for staff and weekly for residents, regardless of vaccination status, and moving, where possible, communal activities outdoors.

“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. “Since July 4 is right around the corner and many of us are looking forward to celebrating Independence Day with family and friends, it is important to remember that many of our loved ones may be older adults, or have serious underlying health conditions, or not yet been vaccinated and boosted. Given the rising number of COVID cases and hospitalizations, and the increased circulation of the more infectious BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, it is extra important to take steps that reduce the risk of transmission especially over the long holiday weekend; this helps us protect ourselves, our families, and our community. With a little planning, you can have a great time celebrating while keeping each other safe. Please be sure to remind friends and family to stay home and skip the celebration if they feel sick or have tested positive. It is also a great idea for everyone to test themselves before getting together, ideally on the day of the gathering. It is always best to celebrate outdoors, and if people come indoors for part of the gathering, wearing a mask is advisable, particularly if there are individuals at high risk of severe illness should they become infected. Let’s use the tools at hand to enjoy our summer, our holiday, and our time with others.”

Today, Public Health reported 10 additional deaths and 7,324 new positive cases. Of the 10 new deaths reported today, six people were between the ages of 65-79 and four people were aged 80 years or older. Of the 10 newly reported deaths, nine had underlying health conditions. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 32,344.

Public Health has reported a total of 3,125,299 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Today’s positivity rate is 13.8%.

There are 791 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 12,184,364 individuals, with 23% 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
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:

	Total Cases
Laboratory Confirmed Cases	3,125,299
-- Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)	2,957,080
-- Long Beach	136,078
-- Pasadena	32,141
Deaths	32,344
-- Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)	30,638
-- Long Beach	1,287
-- Pasadena	419
Age Group (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- 0 to 4	91178
- 5 to 11	259571
- 12 to 17	254390
- 18 to 29	655289
- 30 to 49	947469
- 50 to 64	491220
- 65 to 79	193546
- over 80	62265
- Under Investigation	2152
Gender (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- Female	1510948
- Male	1364782
- Other	1349
- Under Investigation	80001
Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- American Indian/Alaska Native	5470
- Asian	199360
- Black	149280
- Hispanic/Latino	1307401
- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	15069
- White	398399
- Other	330644
- Under Investigation	551457
Hospitalization (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- Hospitalized (Ever)***	142,027
Deaths Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- American Indian/Alaska Native	72
- Asian	3837
- Black	2851
- Hispanic/Latino	15680
- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	112
- White	7692
- Other	307
- Under Investigation	87
CITY / COMMUNITY**	Cases	Case Rate
City of Agoura Hills	5347	25605
City of Alhambra	19520	22508
City of Arcadia	9777	16929
City of Artesia	4681	27871
City of Avalon	65	1680
City of Azusa	14761	29498
City of Baldwin Park	24593	32035
City of Bell	14703	40468
City of Bell Gardens	14832	34436
City of Bellflower	25227	32453
City of Beverly Hills	9656	27972
City of Bradbury	67	6268
City of Burbank	26022	24279
City of Calabasas	4697	19311
City of Carson	28548	30420
City of Cerritos	10031	20035
City of Claremont	7917	21700
City of Commerce*	4819	36874
City of Compton	34793	34826
City of Covina	15891	32409
City of Cudahy	10572	43422
City of Culver City	8992	22556
City of Diamond Bar	10553	18348
City of Downey	38819	33973
City of Duarte	5761	26167
City of El Monte	35242	30052
City of El Segundo	3382	20148
City of Gardena	18048	29437
City of Glendale	49189	23821
City of Glendora	12953	24549
City of Hawaiian Gardens	4399	29974
City of Hawthorne	24624	27734
City of Hermosa Beach	3909	19873
City of Hidden Hills	325	17196
City of Huntington Park	23167	38947
City of Industry	436	99771
City of Inglewood	31769	27970
City of Irwindale	579	39685
City of La Canada Flintridge	3575	17276
City of La Habra Heights	171	3135
City of La Mirada	11544	23275
City of La Puente	13572	33349
City of La Verne	7747	23277
City of Lakewood	21428	26664
City of Lancaster*	54027	33439
City of Lawndale	8857	26349
City of Lomita	4898	23629
City of Lynwood*	26213	36383
City of Malibu	2470	19057
City of Manhattan Beach	6057	16825
City of Maywood	11096	39559
City of Monrovia	9300	23969
City of Montebello	20742	32221
City of Monterey Park	13355	21450
City of Norwalk	35522	33006
City of Palmdale	56288	35408
City of Palos Verdes Estates	1798	13297
City of Paramount	19934	35582
City of Pico Rivera	22640	35219
City of Pomona	55026	35289
City of Rancho Palos Verdes	5929	13870
City of Redondo Beach	12272	17864
City of Rolling Hills	225	11598
City of Rolling Hills Estates	1170	14421
City of Rosemead	12166	21980
City of San Dimas*	8959	25956
City of San Fernando	11091	45063
City of San Gabriel	8656	21136
City of San Marino	1836	13828
City of Santa Clarita	60244	27331
City of Santa Fe Springs	6799	37024
City of Santa Monica	21180	22911
City of Sierra Madre	1815	16517
City of Signal Hill	3211	27219
City of South El Monte	6941	33234
City of South Gate	40750	41516
City of South Pasadena	4943	18973
City of Temple City	7357	20181
City of Torrance	26815	17964
City of Vernon	324	155024
City of Walnut	5715	18718
City of West Covina	32275	29819
City of West Hollywood	9410	25466
City of Westlake Village	325	3888
City of Whittier	25877	29597
Los Angeles	1291198	31924
Los Angeles - Adams-Normandie	2780	33894
Los Angeles - Alsace	3883	31201
Los Angeles - Angeles National Forest	6	15000
Los Angeles - Angelino Heights	700	27978
Los Angeles - Arleta	14552	42339
Los Angeles - Atwater Village	4034	27506
Los Angeles - Baldwin Hills	8364	26872
Los Angeles - Bel Air	1880	22304
Los Angeles - Beverly Crest	2840	22675
Los Angeles - Beverlywood	3521	26729
Los Angeles - Boyle Heights*	35115	40416
Los Angeles - Brentwood	6971	22520
Los Angeles - Brookside	119	20482
Los Angeles - Cadillac-Corning	2047	28746
Los Angeles - Canoga Park	21713	33257
Los Angeles - Carthay	3502	24382
Los Angeles - Central	15450	39624
Los Angeles - Century City	2952	23077
Los Angeles - Century Palms/Cove	14112	41794
Los Angeles - Chatsworth	10536	28429
Los Angeles - Cheviot Hills	2041	22255
Los Angeles - Chinatown	2265	28238
Los Angeles - Cloverdale/Cochran	4428	30427
Los Angeles - Country Club Park	4034	26622
Los Angeles - Crenshaw District	4429	32027
Los Angeles - Crestview	3238	28483
Los Angeles - Del Rey	6956	23236
Los Angeles - Downtown*	13329	48457
Los Angeles - Eagle Rock	10942	27639
Los Angeles - East Hollywood	8016	27371
Los Angeles - Echo Park	3824	26824
Los Angeles - El Sereno	14447	34556
Los Angeles - Elysian Park	1526	26716
Los Angeles - Elysian Valley	3053	30017
Los Angeles - Encino	12241	27099
Los Angeles - Exposition	1076	32351
Los Angeles - Exposition Park	15513	34537
Los Angeles - Faircrest Heights	1019	28306
Los Angeles - Figueroa Park Square	3208	36785
Los Angeles - Florence-Firestone	20354	42900
Los Angeles - Glassell Park	9055	28651
Los Angeles - Gramercy Place	3447	32023
Los Angeles - Granada Hills	17882	30730
Los Angeles - Green Meadows	8933	41539
Los Angeles - Hancock Park	3923	23024
Los Angeles - Harbor City	7779	26760
Los Angeles - Harbor Gateway	13246	30381
Los Angeles - Harbor Pines	506	21005
Los Angeles - Harvard Heights	5469	30324
Los Angeles - Harvard Park	15783	41605
Los Angeles - Highland Park	14434	29828
Los Angeles - Historic Filipinotown	4643	33475
Los Angeles - Hollywood	18130	26563
Los Angeles - Hollywood Hills	6273	21312
Los Angeles - Hyde Park	9970	34932
Los Angeles - Jefferson Park	2736	33891
Los Angeles - Koreatown	14075	27228
Los Angeles - Lafayette Square	1384	30358
Los Angeles - Lake Balboa	13506	32000
Los Angeles - Lakeview Terrace	4955	37729
Los Angeles - Leimert Park	4736	31086
Los Angeles - Lincoln Heights	10944	33574
Los Angeles - Little Armenia	2592	32299
Los Angeles - Little Bangladesh	7477	26380
Los Angeles - Little Tokyo	1197	38206
Los Angeles - Longwood	1458	33875
Los Angeles - Los Feliz	4698	21742
Los Angeles - Manchester Square	2619	30682
Los Angeles - Mandeville Canyon	654	20935
Los Angeles - Mar Vista	8797	20713
Los Angeles - Marina Peninsula	803	18417
Los Angeles - Melrose	22340	28753
Los Angeles - Mid-city	3897	25928
Los Angeles - Miracle Mile	4039	22458
Los Angeles - Mission Hills	10124	41967
Los Angeles - Mt. Washington	7041	29161
Los Angeles - North Hills	21544	34988
Los Angeles - North Hollywood	50494	33347
Los Angeles - Northridge	21271	30476
Los Angeles - Pacific Palisades	4183	19647
Los Angeles - Pacoima	33879	44011
Los Angeles - Palisades Highlands	791	20567
Los Angeles - Palms	9597	21873
Los Angeles - Panorama City	28790	38259
Los Angeles - Park La Brea	2622	19308
Los Angeles - Pico-Union	14530	34726
Los Angeles - Playa Del Rey	487	15238
Los Angeles - Playa Vista	2783	25422
Los Angeles - Porter Ranch	8554	24036
Los Angeles #####