As LA County Remains in High COVID-19 Community Level, Practical Common-Sense Steps Can Slow the Spread - 8,091 New Positive Cases and 20 New Deaths Due to COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

LA County remains in the CDC designated High Community Level this week with the rate of new COVID hospital admissions increasing to 11.4 admissions per 100,000 people. The 7-day case rate also increased this past week by 30%; at 481 cases per 100,000 people, this is higher than the case rate in February during the Omicron winter surge.

While some of those infected experience only mild illness, many do not, and we see this in the doubling of emergency department visits for COVID over the last two months. We also see this in staffing shortages at worksites, including at healthcare facilities. Outbreaks at workplaces are disruptive and expensive since there is cost associated with covering shifts and preventing further spread. Households with infected members also suffer disruptions: for some, this includes lost wages, difficulties isolating, and needing help caring for children.

High community transmission also leads to preventable, avoidable deaths, primarily among those most vulnerable. Nearly 4,500 people have already died from COVID this year. If we can slow down transmission, we have a chance at preventing some people from dying in the upcoming months.

It is also clear that many individuals infected with COVID have experienced long COVID, and with big increases in cases, there are likely to be more people reporting illness symptoms weeks after initial infection. The most common symptoms reported for Long COVID are fatigue and exercise intolerance, however breathing problems, brain fog, prolonged loss of taste and smell, and even sudden hair loss have occurred for some. The symptoms vary and may last or reappear over time.

High transmission has been fueled by increased circulation of BA.5, a sub-variant that is associated with high rates or reinfections. Given the results from a recent large study among veterans that identified increased risks to health created by repeat infections, slowing spread is likely to also help lower the risk of reinfections.

Being up-to-date on vaccinations offers the best chance of not experiencing the worst outcomes. Vaccines and boosters continue to significantly reduce the risk of severe disease and death from COVID, should residents become infected. If residents have underlying health conditions or are an older adult, they should be prepared to seek treatment right away if they become sick with COVID. There are free, lifesaving-medications available to treat residents should they become infected and sick.

At home, and in the community, there are several steps residents can take to lower risk, including getting tested if sick or recently exposed, and isolating away from others if they tested positive. When out and about, don’t wait for a masking requirement before masking indoors. If planning to attend a private event, residents should test themselves before going and stay home if they test positive. When hosting an event, it makes sense when transmission is this high to ask others to test before attending. Outside remains safer than inside for parties and events. If gatherings do move indoors, increasing ventilation and masking indoors when not actively eating or drinking is sensible, especially if anyone with vulnerable health is attending.

At workplaces, maximizing ventilation is primary as it reduces the amount of virus in the air, should an infected person be present. Workplaces must provide medical grade masks and/or respirators and may choose to require indoor masking. Workplaces that are experiencing outbreaks have additional reporting, masking, testing, and return to work required measures.

“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. “What we have learned over the course of the pandemic is that this is a dangerous virus. We benefit enormously for all the effective tools at hand, and they allow most of us to fully live our lives: we travel, we go to parties, we enjoy concerts, plays and sporting events, and we get together with those we love. However, when transmission is really high, we would be foolish to be complacent and not layer in additional protections that help those most vulnerable also fully live their lives. We are a wonderful county, with amazing people and have a long history of working together to protect each other.”

Today, Public Health reported 20 additional deaths and 8,091 new positive cases. Of the 20 new deaths reported today, one person was between the ages of 18-29, three people were between the ages of 30-49, six people were between the ages of 65-79, and eight people were aged 80 years or older. For information on the one death reported by the City of Long Beach and the one death reported by the City of Pasadena, visit longbeach.gov and pasadena.net. Of the 20 newly reported deaths, 16 had underlying health conditions. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 32,604.

Public Health has reported a total of 3,253,323 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Today’s positivity rate is 15.7%.

There are 1,247 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 12,297,229 individuals, with 24% 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	3,253,323
-- Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)	3,077,708
-- Long Beach	141,982
-- Pasadena	33,633
Deaths	32,604
-- Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)	30,888
-- Long Beach	1,294
-- Pasadena	422
Age Group (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- 0 to 4	95985
- 5 to 11	265077
- 12 to 17	259612
- 18 to 29	678930
- 30 to 49	989140
- 50 to 64	515336
- 65 to 79	205252
- over 80	66167
- Under Investigation	2209
Gender (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- Female	1575111
- Male	1418479
- Other	1411
- Under Investigation	82707
Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- American Indian/Alaska Native	5732
- Asian	213090
- Black	156112
- Hispanic/Latino	1346987
- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	15707
- White	415257
- Other	347241
- Under Investigation	577582
Hospitalization (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- Hospitalized (Ever)***	144,905
Deaths Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- American Indian/Alaska Native	72
- Asian	3880
- Black	2879
- Hispanic/Latino	15748
- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	111
- White	7796
- Other	315
- Under Investigation	87
CITY / COMMUNITY**	Cases	Case Rate
City of Agoura Hills	5671	27156
City of Alhambra	20804	23989
City of Arcadia	10572	18305
City of Artesia	4917	29277
City of Avalon	65	1680
City of Azusa	15400	30775
City of Baldwin Park	25718	33501
City of Bell	15172	41759
City of Bell Gardens	15284	35486
City of Bellflower	26407	33971
City of Beverly Hills	10131	29348
City of Bradbury	67	6268
City of Burbank	27412	25576
City of Calabasas	4939	20306
City of Carson	29969	31934
City of Cerritos	10744	21459
City of Claremont	8233	22566
City of Commerce*	5009	38327
City of Compton	35976	36011
City of Covina	16576	33806
City of Cudahy	10966	45040
City of Culver City	9544	23941
City of Diamond Bar	11127	19346
City of Downey	40397	35354
City of Duarte	6101	27712
City of El Monte	36846	31420
City of El Segundo	3529	21023
City of Gardena	18818	30693
City of Glendale	51309	24848
City of Glendora	13553	25686
City of Hawaiian Gardens	4568	31126
City of Hawthorne	25547	28773
City of Hermosa Beach	4072	20702
City of Hidden Hills	341	18042
City of Huntington Park	23915	40204
City of Industry	455	104119
City of Inglewood	32930	28992
City of Irwindale	599	41056
City of La Canada Flintridge	3785	18291
City of La Habra Heights	172	3153
City of La Mirada	12056	24307
City of La Puente	14158	34789
City of La Verne	8099	24334
City of Lakewood	22531	28037
City of Lancaster*	55889	34591
City of Lawndale	9269	27575
City of Lomita	5096	24584
City of Lynwood*	27156	37692
City of Malibu	2549	19667
City of Manhattan Beach	6314	17539
City of Maywood	11438	40779
City of Monrovia	9827	25327
City of Montebello	21705	33717
City of Monterey Park	14306	22977
City of Norwalk	36875	34263
City of Palmdale	58412	36745
City of Palos Verdes Estates	1855	13718
City of Paramount	20568	36713
City of Pico Rivera	23684	36843
City of Pomona	57003	36557
City of Rancho Palos Verdes	6241	14600
City of Redondo Beach	12957	18861
City of Rolling Hills	240	12371
City of Rolling Hills Estates	1233	15198
City of Rosemead	12984	23458
City of San Dimas*	9452	27384
City of San Fernando	11435	46461
City of San Gabriel	9218	22508
City of San Marino	1960	14762
City of Santa Clarita	62987	28575
City of Santa Fe Springs	7056	38423
City of Santa Monica	22337	24162
City of Sierra Madre	1934	17599
City of Signal Hill	3389	28728
City of South El Monte	7230	34618
City of South Gate	42113	42905
City of South Pasadena	5281	20270
City of Temple City	8117	22266
City of Torrance	28337	18984
City of Vernon	330	157895
City of Walnut	6081	19917
City of West Covina	33911	31331
City of West Hollywood	9765	26427
City of Westlake Village	339	4055
City of Whittier	26951	30825
Los Angeles	1338798	33101
Los Angeles - Adams-Normandie	2870	34991
Los Angeles - Alsace	4015	32262
Los Angeles - Angeles National Forest	6	15000
Los Angeles - Angelino Heights	729	29137
Los Angeles - Arleta	15033	43739
Los Angeles - Atwater Village	4236	28883
Los Angeles - Baldwin Hills	8744	28093
Los Angeles - Bel Air	2065	24499
Los Angeles - Beverly Crest	2937	23449
Los Angeles - Beverlywood	3645	27670
Los Angeles - Boyle Heights*	36237	41707
Los Angeles - Brentwood	7310	23615
Los Angeles - Brookside	124	21343
Los Angeles - Cadillac-Corning	2093	29392
Los Angeles - Canoga Park	22435	34363
Los Angeles - Carthay	3656	25454
Los Angeles - Central	15763	40426
Los Angeles - Century City	3118	24375
Los Angeles - Century Palms/Cove	14483	42892
Los Angeles - Chatsworth	10957	29565
Los Angeles - Cheviot Hills	2137	23302
Los Angeles - Chinatown	2367	29510
Los Angeles - Cloverdale/Cochran	4602	31622
Los Angeles - Country Club Park	4206	27757
Los Angeles - Crenshaw District	4604	33292
Los Angeles - Crestview	3338	29363
Los Angeles - Del Rey	7281	24322
Los Angeles - Downtown*	13885	50478
Los Angeles - Eagle Rock	11569	29223
Los Angeles - East Hollywood	8325	28426
Los Angeles - Echo Park	3994	28016
Los Angeles - El Sereno	15046	35988
Los Angeles - Elysian Park	1585	27749
Los Angeles - Elysian Valley	3174	31206
Los Angeles - Encino	12892	28540
Los Angeles - Exposition	1117	33584
Los Angeles - Exposition Park	15960	35532
Los Angeles - Faircrest Heights	1068	29667
Los Angeles - Figueroa Park Square	3319	38058
Los Angeles - Florence-Firestone	20824	43891
Los Angeles - Glassell Park	9492	30034
Los Angeles - Gramercy Place	3584	33296
Los Angeles - Granada Hills	18675	32093
Los Angeles - Green Meadows	9150	42548
Los Angeles - Hancock Park	4089	23998
Los Angeles - Harbor City	8092	27836
Los Angeles - Harbor Gateway	13746	31528
Los Angeles - Harbor Pines	529	21959
Los Angeles - Harvard Heights	5601	31056
Los Angeles - Harvard Park	16262	42868
Los Angeles - Highland Park	15077	31157
Los Angeles - Historic Filipinotown	4798	34593
Los Angeles - Hollywood	18865	27639
Los Angeles - Hollywood Hills	6585	22372
Los Angeles - Hyde Park	10307	36113
Los Angeles - Jefferson Park	2816	34882
Los Angeles - Koreatown	14533	28114
Los Angeles - Lafayette Square	1442	31630
Los Angeles - Lake Balboa	14024	33228
Los Angeles - Lakeview Terrace	5151	39222
Los Angeles - Leimert Park	4945	32458
Los Angeles - Lincoln Heights	11365	34865
Los Angeles - Little Armenia	2684	33445
Los Angeles - Little Bangladesh	7769	27411
Los Angeles - Little Tokyo	1251	39930
Los Angeles - Longwood	1510	35084
Los Angeles - Los Feliz	4941	22867
Los Angeles - Manchester Square	2736	32052
Los Angeles - Mandeville Canyon	689	22055
Los Angeles - Mar Vista	9214	21695
Los Angeles - Marina Peninsula	824	18899
Los Angeles - Melrose	23128	29767
Los Angeles - Mid-city	4059	27006
Los Angeles - Miracle Mile	4256	23664
Los Angeles - Mission Hills	10491	43488
Los Angeles - Mt. Washington	7316	30300
Los Angeles - North Hills	22334	36271
Los Angeles - North Hollywood	52376	34590
Los Angeles - Northridge	22114	31683
Los Angeles - Pacific Palisades	4364	20497
Los Angeles - Pacoima	34857	45281
Los Angeles - Palisades Highlands	809	21035
Los Angeles - Palms	10136	23101
Los Angeles - Panorama City	29829	39640
Los Angeles - Park La Brea	2737	20155
Los Angeles - Pico-Union	14870	35538
Los Angeles - Playa Del Rey	505	15801
Los Angeles - Playa Vista	2926	26729
Los Angeles - Porter Ranch	9003	25298
Los Angeles - Rancho Park	1900	28963
Los Angeles - Regent Square	760	27338
Los Angeles - Reseda	27881	36390
Los Angeles - Reseda Ranch	1596	34426
Los Angeles - Reynier Village	1051	24858
Los Angeles - San Pedro*	22691	29077
Los Angeles - S #####