Public Health Reports Small Signs of Increasing COVID-19 Transmission; Recommends Common-Sense Precautions

With small increases in the number of reported COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles County, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) reminds residents to consider taking common-sense precautions, especially for people at highest risk for severe illness from COVID-19.

Public Health data shows increases in reported COVID-19 cases, virus concentrations in wastewater and the percentage of positive COVID-19 tests, possibly the result of high levels of exposure during Fourth of July festivities, summer travel, and the unusually high temperatures that are keeping people indoors more often.

For the past three summers, Los Angeles County has experienced a summer COVID-19 surge. Beginning in mid-July 2021, cases and hospitalizations increased relatively sharply. In contrast, in 2022, cases and hospitalizations had already begun to rise by May 1, however the increase was more gradual.

This week, Public Health reports 2,034 new COVID-19 cases, a 32 percent increase from the 1,544 cases reported last week. While helpful to indicate larger trends, cases are an undercount of the true number of infections due to the large number of at-home COVID test results that are not reported to Public Health.

Wastewater concentrations of SARS CoV-2, the virus that results in a COVID-19 infection, are at 10 percent of the most recent winter peak for the week ending July 8, a slight increase from the 8 percent that was recorded for each of the previous three weeks. The test positivity rate, which does not include home tests, increased to 7.5 percent as of July 15, up from 5.1 percent one month earlier.

This month, Public Health also is reporting more new outbreaks in skilled nursing facilities, where residents are more susceptible to severe illness and death from COVID-19. For the week ending July 18, Public Health opened 11 outbreak investigations, similar to the 12 outbreak investigations opened the week before. By comparison, one month ago, for the week ending June 20, four new outbreaks were opened.

While COVID-19 transmission patterns continue to evolve, it is important that county residents take simple precautions to reduce transmission. This includes testing if exposed to COVID-19 or if experiencing symptoms of a respiratory illness, including sore throat, cough or fever. Information about testing, including where to get free tests, is available at ph.lacounty.gov/COVIDtests.

If a person tests positive for COVID-19, they must isolate for at least five full days to prevent inadvertently transmitting the virus to others. Isolation may end during days 6-10 if a person goes more than 24 hours without a fever, without the use of fever reducing medications, and their symptoms are not worsening; a negative COVID-19 test is strongly recommended. When leaving isolation, it is recommended to mask through day 10.

Treatments for COVID-19 continue to be widely available in Los Angeles County. However, these medications are only effective if taken within five days of symptom onset. To get treatment, speak to a provider or contact the Public Health Call Center at 1-833-540-0473. Assistance is available seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

“I offer my condolences to those who have lost a loved one to COVID-19. I wish you peace and strength during this difficult time,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.Ed., Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. “Los Angeles County could be facing a small bump in cases in the coming weeks, which is not entirely unexpected looking at what is happening in other parts of the world, including cases rising in Japan. While it is too early to say anything definitively, the best course is to take advantage of the tools and knowledge we have gained to minimize the spread, especially for those who are most vulnerable. I am happy to see that our hospitalizations and deaths remain relatively low, and my hope is that with the protection of vaccines, the use of therapeutics, and our acquired immunity, that even if transmission does rise, we will not see the same increases in hospitalizations and deaths that we have in the past.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has replaced COVID-19 Community Levels with Hospital Admission Levels, which can help individuals and communities decide which prevention actions they can take based on the most recent information. Los Angeles County is in the Low Hospital Admission Level with 2.6 weekly COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 people, reported on July 17 for the seven-day period ending July 8.

Public Health reports COVID-19 data weekly. The following table shows case, wastewater, emergency department, hospitalization, and death data in Los Angeles County over the past four weeks.

Metric	Date of Weekly Report
Metric	7/19/2023	7/12/2023	7/5/2023	6/28/2023
Weekly cases reported^1,2	2,034	1,544	1,741	1,794
SARS-CoV-2 wastewater concentration as a percentage of the Winter 2022-2023 peak concentration value³	10%	8%	8%	8%
7-day average of the percent of Emergency Department (ED) encounters classified as coronavirus-related^3,4	2.5%	2.4%	2.0%	2.4%
7-day average number of COVID-positive hospitalizations^3,4	221	213	214	233
Weekly deaths reported²	14	13	29	28
1) Case counts are an underrepresentation of the true number of infections, largely due to home tests which are not reported to DPH. Despite this, the trend in reported case counts from week to week is still an indicator of overall trends in transmission.
2) Weekly case and death counts represent the number of cases and deaths reported for the week ending each Tuesday. The date a case/death is reported by DPH is not the same as the date of testing or death. Starting the week of 7/5/23, weekly reported case counts do not include Long Beach and Pasadena. Starting the week of 7/5/23, weekly reported death counts do not include Long Beach.
3) Time periods covered by each metric: wastewater = week ending each Saturday, with a one-week lag; ED data = week ending each Sunday; hospitalizations = week ending each Saturday.
4) Data for past weeks is subject to change in future reports.

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/COVIDdata including:

• COVID-19 Locations & Demographics (data by demographic characteristics and geography, active outbreaks, and citations)

• COVID -19 Response Plan

• COVID -19 Vaccinations

• Skilled Nursing Facility Metrics

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 https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html ncov/index.html

• CDC 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

Cases through 12:00pm 7/17/2023
	Total Cases
Laboratory Confirmed Cases (includes LB and Pas through 6/27/23; excludes LB and Pas after 6/27/23)	3,761,107
Deaths (includes LB and Pas)	36,564
Cases by Age Group (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- 0 to 4	112,537
- 5 to 11	283,428
- 12 to 17	278,117
- 18 to 29	760,899
- 30 to 49	1,139,032
- 50 to 64	618,053
- 65 to 79	267,137
- over 80	94,348
- Under Investigation	2,563
Cases by Gender (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- Female	1,835,749
- Male	1,629,375
- Other	1,851
- Under Investigation	89,139
Cases by Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- American Indian/Alaska Native	6,737
- Asian	265,307
- Black	187,266
- Hispanic/Latino	1,518,071
- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	17,795
- White	494,434
- Other	409,067
- Under Investigation	657,437
Hospitalization (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- Hospitalized (Ever)	179,723
Deaths by Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- American Indian/Alaska Native	80
- Asian	4,531
- Black	3,257
- Hispanic/Latino	16,928
- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	117
- White	9,260
- Other	425
- Under Investigation	90
CITY / COMMUNITY**	Cases	Case Rate
City of Agoura Hills	6376	30532
City of Alhambra	25610	29530
City of Arcadia	13802	23898
City of Artesia	6032	35915
City of Avalon	290	7495
City of Azusa	17566	35104
City of Baldwin Park	29804	38823
City of Bell	17067	46975
City of Bell Gardens	17222	39985
City of Bellflower	30936	39797
City of Beverly Hills	11641	33722
City of Bradbury	71	6642
City of Burbank	33029	30816
City of Calabasas	5878	24166
City of Carson	35117	37420
City of Cerritos	13460	26884
City of Claremont	10470	28698
City of Commerce*	5892	45084
City of Compton	40438	40477
City of Covina	20361	41526
City of Cudahy	12249	50310
City of Culver City	12035	30189
City of Diamond Bar	13763	23929
City of Downey	47011	41143
City of Duarte	7537	34234
City of El Monte	42899	36582
City of El Segundo	4116	24520
City of Gardena	21991	35869
City of Glendale	60625	29359
City of Glendora	15105	28627
City of Hawaiian Gardens	5017	34185
City of Hawthorne	29777	33538
City of Hermosa Beach	4756	24179
City of Hidden Hills	388	20529
City of Huntington Park	26417	44410
City of Industry	1019	233181
City of Inglewood	38913	34260
City of Irwindale	889	60932
City of La Canada Flintridge	4575	22109
City of La Habra Heights	215	3941
City of La Mirada	14310	28851
City of La Puente	16043	39421
City of La Verne	9287	27904
City of Lakewood	27226	33879
City of Lancaster*	64440	39884
City of Lawndale	10645	31668
City of Lomita	6147	29654
City of Lynwood*	31448	43649
City of Malibu	2906	22421
City of Manhattan Beach	7489	20803
City of Maywood	12876	45905
City of Monrovia	11913	30704
City of Montebello	25612	39786
City of Monterey Park	17590	28252
City of Norwalk	43273	40208
City of Palmdale	67091	42204
City of Palos Verdes Estates	2291	16943
City of Paramount	22835	40760
City of Pico Rivera	28258	43958
City of Pomona	65865	42240
City of Rancho Palos Verdes	7842	18345
City of Redondo Beach	15718	22880
City of Rolling Hills	302	15567
City of Rolling Hills Estates	1550	19105
City of Rosemead	15331	27698
City of San Dimas*	11161	32336
City of San Fernando	12827	52117
City of San Gabriel	11512	28110
City of San Marino	2427	18280
City of Santa Clarita	73908	33530
City of Santa Fe Springs	7929	43177
City of Santa Monica	26709	28891
City of Sierra Madre	2443	22231
City of Signal Hill	4119	34916
City of South El Monte	8469	40551
City of South Gate	47326	48216
City of South Pasadena	6363	24423
City of Temple City	10808	29648
City of Torrance	34611	23187
City of Vernon	358	171292
City of Walnut	7621	24961
City of West Covina	39767	36741
City of West Hollywood	11360	30743
City of Westlake Village	455	5443
City of Whittier	31499	36027
Los Angeles	1535488	37964
Los Angeles - Adams-Normandie	3222	39283
Los Angeles - Alsace	4545	36521
Los Angeles - Angeles National Forest	0	0
Los Angeles - Angelino Heights	851	34013
Los Angeles - Arleta	16978	49398
Los Angeles - Atwater Village	5113	34863
Los Angeles - Baldwin Hills	10309	33121
Los Angeles - Bel Air	2472	29327
Los Angeles - Beverly Crest	3362	26842
Los Angeles - Beverlywood	4238	32172
Los Angeles - Boyle Heights*	40616	46747
Los Angeles - Brentwood	8482	27401
Los Angeles - Brookside	158	27194
Los Angeles - Cadillac-Corning	2310	32439
Los Angeles - Canoga Park	25452	38984
Los Angeles - Carthay	4451	30989
Los Angeles - Central	17090	43830
Los Angeles - Century City	3784	29581
Los Angeles - Century Palms/Cove	16369	48478
Los Angeles - Chatsworth	13035	35172
Los Angeles - Cheviot Hills	2579	28121
Los Angeles - Chinatown	2960	36903
Los Angeles - Cloverdale/Cochran	5354	36790
Los Angeles - Country Club Park	4933	32555
Los Angeles - Crenshaw District	5373	38853
Los Angeles - Crestview	3992	35116
Los Angeles - Del Rey	8498	28387
Los Angeles - Downtown*	16294	59236
Los Angeles - Eagle Rock	13904	35121
Los Angeles - East Hollywood	9599	32776
Los Angeles - Echo Park	4523	31727
Los Angeles - El Sereno	17000	40662
Los Angeles - Elysian Park	1850	32388
Los Angeles - Elysian Valley	3583	35228
Los Angeles - Encino	15361	34006
Los Angeles - Exposition	1286	38665
Los Angeles - Exposition Park	18337	40824
Los Angeles - Faircrest Heights	1275	35417
Los Angeles - Figueroa Park Square	3815	43745
Los Angeles - Florence-Firestone	22949	48370
Los Angeles - Glassell Park	11068	35021
Los Angeles - Gramercy Place	4201	39028
Los Angeles - Granada Hills	21682	37260
Los Angeles - Green Meadows	10125	47082
Los Angeles - Hancock Park	4771	28000
Los Angeles - Harbor City	9471	32580
Los Angeles - Harbor Gateway	15777	36186
Los Angeles - Harbor Pines	652	27065
Los Angeles - Harvard Heights	6182	34278
Los Angeles - Harvard Park	18115	47753
Los Angeles - Highland Park	17333	35819
Los Angeles - Historic Filipinotown	5534	39899
Los Angeles - Hollywood	21823	31973
Los Angeles - Hollywood Hills	7734	26276
Los Angeles - Hyde Park	12022	42122
Los Angeles - Jefferson Park	3163	39180
Los Angeles - Koreatown	16299	31530
Los Angeles - Lafayette Square	1605	35205
Los Angeles - Lake Balboa	16402	38862
Los Angeles - Lakeview Terrace	6168	46966
Los Angeles - Leimert Park	5838	38320
Los Angeles - Lincoln Heights	12879	39510
Los Angeles - Little Armenia	3067	38218
Los Angeles - Little Bangladesh	8712	30738
Los Angeles - Little Tokyo	1514	48324
Los Angeles - Longwood	1801	41845
Los Angeles - Los Feliz	6455	29873
Los Angeles - Manchester Square	3276	38379
Los Angeles - Mandeville Canyon	910	29129
Los Angeles - Mar Vista	11058	26037
Los Angeles - Marina Peninsula	968	22202
Los Angeles - Melrose	26440	34030
Los Angeles - Mid-city	4521	30080
Los Angeles - Miracle Mile	4971	27640
Los Angeles - Mission Hills	11985	49681
Los Angeles - Mt. Washington	8284	34309
Los Angeles - North Hills	25446	41325
Los Angeles - North Hollywood	59430	39248 #####