Simple Safety Measures Offered to Reduce COVID-19 Spread Over Labor Day Weekend

To reduce the spread of COVID-19 over the Labor Day weekend, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) is offering simple steps for people who want to lower their risk of getting infected while celebrating the holiday.

With a rise inCOVID-19 transmission in Los Angeles County, there are many reasons people may want to take extra measures to protect themselves against infection, including if they are older, have a weakened immune system or chronic health condition, want to avoid missing work, school or other activities or are concerned about infecting more vulnerable people around them.

Approaching Labor Day weekend, Los Angeles County is seeing the sixth consecutive week of increased measures of COVID-19 transmission. At gatherings and celebrations, some straightforward steps can help increase safety against COVID-19, including holding events outside when possible, opening windows when gathering indoors for increased ventilation and requesting that people test before getting together.

Public Health also recommends testing when someone has been exposed to COVID-19 or if they have possible symptoms, including a cough, fever, headache or unusual fatigue. To access free COVID-19 testing in Los Angeles County, visit http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/covidtests.

Masking is currently based on individual preference, except when required during outbreaks or by the site. People who are at higher risk of severe illness should consider wearing a high-quality, well-fitting mask when in crowded and/or poorly ventilated indoor spaces. For everyone, masking is strongly recommended on public transit and in health care settings. In addition, people should mask around others for 10 days if they are exposed to COVID-19 or for days 6-10 after an infection if leaving isolation.

Currently, Los Angeles County is reporting a daily average of 521 COVID-positive hospitalizations, just over a 20 percent increase from the week prior and twice as high as what was reported 4 weeks ago. The proportion of emergency department visits attributed to COVID-19 this week is 5.1 percent, an increase from 3.2 percent reported on Aug. 2.

In the past, new variants and sub-variants have often fueled increases in transmission. Los Angeles County continues to regularly sequence local COVID-19 specimens to know what strains are circulating and to prepare if changes will affect the impact of COVID-19.

According to the most recent local sequencing data for the two-week period ending Aug. 5, the most dominant strain in Los Angeles County was EG.5, which accounted for 22 percent of sequenced specimens. This is the first time a strain has accounted for more than 20 percent of sequenced specimens since early July. The next most dominant strain is XBB.1.5, accounting for almost 14% of sequenced specimens.

Because it takes time to sequence positive specimens, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) uses modeling to predict the proportion of strains circulating right now. As of Sept. 1, for the U.S. region that includes California and surrounding states, it is estimated that EG.5 remains dominant and accounts for 29% of current cases.

Anyone infected with COVID-19 should talk to their health care provider about treatment options, such as Paxlovid, as soon as possible. Treatment must begin within five days of the onset of symptoms. To access free telehealth services for treatment, contact the Public Health Call Center, seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., at 1-833-540-0473.

Los Angeles County remains in the CDC’s Low Hospital Admission Level with 6.3 weekly COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 people, reported on Aug. 28 for the seven-day period ending Aug. 19, an increase from 5.2 hospital admissions last week.

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	8/30/2023	8/23/2023	8/16/2023	8/9/2023
Daily average cases	571	512	384	333
SARS-CoV-2 wastewater concentration as a percentage of the Winter 2022-2023 peak concentration value	26%	28%	22%	19%
Daily average of the percent of Emergency Department (ED) encounters classified as coronavirus-related	5.1%	4.4%	3.9%	3.5%
Daily average number of COVID-positive hospitalizations	521	430	330	295
Daily average deaths	1.0	1.7	1.0	1.7
Percent of all deaths due to COVID-19	2.6%	1.0%	1.0%	1.4%
All daily averages are 7-day averages. Data for past weeks are subject to change in future reports. Time periods covered by each metric: cases = week ending each Saturday; wastewater = week ending each Saturday, with a one-week lag; ED data = week ending each Sunday; hospitalizations = week ending each Saturday; deaths = week ending each Monday, with a three-week lag; death percentage = week ending Monday, with a one-week lag. Hospitalization counts do not include Prospect Hospitals, which on average make up 2% of hospitalizations in LA County. Case data is presented by episode date, an approximation of the date the illness began, and death data is presented by date of death. This is a change from how case and death data were presented prior to July 26, 2023, which was by date of report. Daily average cases and deaths do not include Long Beach and Pasadena.

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-ncov/index.html

• CDC Spanish ?HYPERLINK "https://espanol.cdc.gov/enes/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html"https://espanol.cdc.gov/enes/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html -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 8/28/2023
	Total Cases
Laboratory Confirmed Cases (includes LB and Pas through 6/27/23; excludes LB and Pas after 6/27/23)	3,783,352
Deaths (includes LB and Pas)	36,628
Cases by Age Group (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- 0 to 4	113,924
- 5 to 11	284,047
- 12 to 17	278,724
- 18 to 29	763,969
- 30 to 49	1,145,056
- 50 to 64	622,688
- 65 to 79	270,936
- over 80	96,438
- Under Investigation	2,577
Cases by Gender (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- Female	1,848,488
- Male	1,638,727
- Other	1,866
- Under Investigation	89,278
Cases by Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- American Indian/Alaska Native	6,795
- Asian	267,314
- Black	189,320
- Hispanic/Latino	1,525,487
- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	17,893
- White	498,587
- Other	412,318
- Under Investigation	660,645
Hospitalization (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- Hospitalized (Ever)	183,456
Deaths by Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- American Indian/Alaska Native	81
- Asian	4,545
- Black	3,263
- Hispanic/Latino	16,941
- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	116
- White	9,271
- Other	429
- Under Investigation	93
CITY / COMMUNITY**	Cases	Case Rate
City of Agoura Hills	6421	30747
City of Alhambra	25810	29761
City of Arcadia	13909	24083
City of Artesia	6076	36177
City of Avalon	292	7547
City of Azusa	17658	35288
City of Baldwin Park	29939	38999
City of Bell	17123	47129
City of Bell Gardens	17303	40173
City of Bellflower	31120	40033
City of Beverly Hills	11715	33937
City of Bradbury	71	6642
City of Burbank	33245	31018
City of Calabasas	5937	24409
City of Carson	35408	37730
City of Cerritos	13594	27152
City of Claremont	10509	28804
City of Commerce*	5914	45252
City of Compton	40691	40730
City of Covina	20487	41783
City of Cudahy	12290	50478
City of Culver City	12162	30508
City of Diamond Bar	13852	24084
City of Downey	47256	41357
City of Duarte	7586	34457
City of El Monte	43150	36796
City of El Segundo	4151	24729
City of Gardena	22172	36164
City of Glendale	60972	29527
City of Glendora	15259	28919
City of Hawaiian Gardens	5050	34410
City of Hawthorne	30004	33793
City of Hermosa Beach	4803	24418
City of Hidden Hills	390	20635
City of Huntington Park	26521	44585
City of Industry	1021	233638
City of Inglewood	39194	34507
City of Irwindale	896	61412
City of La Canada Flintridge	4624	22346
City of La Habra Heights	215	3941
City of La Mirada	14426	29085
City of La Puente	16105	39573
City of La Verne	9348	28087
City of Lakewood	27426	34128
City of Lancaster*	64886	40160
City of Lawndale	10714	31874
City of Lomita	6188	29852
City of Lynwood*	31610	43874
City of Malibu	2922	22545
City of Manhattan Beach	7552	20978
City of Maywood	12925	46080
City of Monrovia	11999	30925
City of Montebello	25731	39970
City of Monterey Park	17723	28465
City of Norwalk	43486	40406
City of Palmdale	67489	42454
City of Palos Verdes Estates	2316	17128
City of Paramount	22948	40962
City of Pico Rivera	28359	44115
City of Pomona	66230	42474
City of Rancho Palos Verdes	7953	18605
City of Redondo Beach	15867	23097
City of Rolling Hills	303	15619
City of Rolling Hills Estates	1568	19327
City of Rosemead	15420	27859
City of San Dimas*	11217	32498
City of San Fernando	12883	52344
City of San Gabriel	11604	28334
City of San Marino	2464	18558
City of Santa Clarita	74557	33824
City of Santa Fe Springs	7968	43389
City of Santa Monica	26963	29166
City of Sierra Madre	2464	22422
City of Signal Hill	4145	35136
City of South El Monte	8496	40680
City of South Gate	47551	48445
City of South Pasadena	6418	24634
City of Temple City	10870	29818
City of Torrance	34994	23444
City of Vernon	358	171292
City of Walnut	7665	25105
City of West Covina	39985	36943
City of West Hollywood	11420	30906
City of Westlake Village	456	5455
City of Whittier	31615	36160
Los Angeles	1544745	38193
Los Angeles - Adams-Normandie	3236	39454
Los Angeles - Alsace	4585	36842
Los Angeles - Angeles National Forest	0	0
Los Angeles - Angelino Heights	851	34013
Los Angeles - Arleta	17057	49628
Los Angeles - Atwater Village	5143	35068
Los Angeles - Baldwin Hills	10378	33343
Los Angeles - Bel Air	2496	29612
Los Angeles - Beverly Crest	3387	27042
Los Angeles - Beverlywood	4268	32400
Los Angeles - Boyle Heights*	40789	46947
Los Angeles - Brentwood	8555	27637
Los Angeles - Brookside	158	27194
Los Angeles - Cadillac-Corning	2322	32608
Los Angeles - Canoga Park	25620	39241
Los Angeles - Carthay	4468	31108
Los Angeles - Central	17138	43953
Los Angeles - Century City	3820	29862
Los Angeles - Century Palms/Cove	16457	48738
Los Angeles - Chatsworth	13137	35447
Los Angeles - Cheviot Hills	2597	28318
Los Angeles - Chinatown	2974	37078
Los Angeles - Cloverdale/Cochran	5391	37044
Los Angeles - Country Club Park	4947	32647
Los Angeles - Crenshaw District	5421	39200
Los Angeles - Crestview	4017	35336
Los Angeles - Del Rey	8579	28658
Los Angeles - Downtown*	16365	59494
Los Angeles - Eagle Rock	13990	35338
Los Angeles - East Hollywood	9673	33028
Los Angeles - Echo Park	4549	31909
Los Angeles - El Sereno	17087	40870
Los Angeles - Elysian Park	1859	32546
Los Angeles - Elysian Valley	3609	35483
Los Angeles - Encino	15471	34249
Los Angeles - Exposition	1300	39086
Los Angeles - Exposition Park	18405	40976
Los Angeles - Faircrest Heights	1286	35722
Los Angeles - Figueroa Park Square	3836	43986
Los Angeles - Florence-Firestone	23048	48578
Los Angeles - Glassell Park	11125	35201
Los Angeles - Gramercy Place	4232	39316
Los Angeles - Granada Hills	21822	37501
Los Angeles - Green Meadows	10197	47417
Los Angeles - Hancock Park	4798	28159
Los Angeles - Harbor City	9544	32831
Los Angeles - Harbor Gateway	15911	36493
Los Angeles - Harbor Pines	656	27231
Los Angeles - Harvard Heights	6212	34444
Los Angeles - Harvard Park	18213	48011
Los Angeles - Highland Park	17422	36003
Los Angeles - Historic Filipinotown	5564	40115
Los Angeles - Hollywood	21948	32156
Los Angeles - Hollywood Hills	7781	26435
Los Angeles - Hyde Park	12098	42388
Los Angeles - Jefferson Park	3189	39502
Los Angeles - Koreatown	16387	31701
Los Angeles - Lafayette Square	1614	35403
Los Angeles - Lake Balboa	16498	39089
Los Angeles - Lakeview Terrace	6193	47156
Los Angeles - Leimert Park	5871	38536
Los Angeles - Lincoln Heights	12934	39678
Los Angeles - Little Armenia	3078	38355
Los Angeles - Little Bangladesh	8749	30868
Los Angeles - Little Tokyo	1527	48739
Los Angeles - Longwood	1816	42193
Los Angeles - Los Feliz	6495	30058
Los Angeles - Manchester Square	3293	38578
Los Angeles - Mandeville Canyon	916	29321
Los Angeles - Mar Vista	11151	26256
Los Angeles - Marina Peninsula	977	22408
Los Angeles - Melrose	26596	34231
Los Angeles - Mid-city	4563	30359
Los Angeles - Miracle Mile	5001	27807
Los Angeles - Mission Hills	12071	50037
Los Angeles - Mt. Washington	8327	34487
Los Angeles - North Hills	25623	41613
Los Angeles - North Hollywood	59754	39462
Los Angeles - Northridge	25994	37242
Los Angeles - Pacific Palisades	5121	24052
Los Angeles - Pacoima	39192	50913
Los Angeles - Palisades Highlands	937	24363
Los Angeles - Palms	12290	28010
Los Angeles - Panorama City	33893	45041
Los Angeles - Park La Brea	3300	24300
Los Angeles - Pico-Union	#####