As of Monday, February 9, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed 227 new deaths and 3,353 new cases of COVID-19. There were 4,079 people with COVID-19 hospitalized with of 29% these people in the ICU.
Public Health identified 1,152,239 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 18,360 deaths. Across the Southland: within Los Angeles County shows 1,092,128 cases, within Long Beach with 49,603 cases and within Pasadena with 10,508. According to race and ethnicity, COVID-19 statistics show: American Indian/Alaska Native with 1,904; Asian with 48,111; Black with 38,409; Hispanic/Latino with 522,701; Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander with 4,094; White with 108,876; those of other race and ethnicity with 108,385 and 259,648 under investigation.
“We are only weeks away from reducing transmission in L.A. County to a level where elementary schools will be allowed by the state to offer in-class instruction, provided they adhere to all state and county directives,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, director of Public Health. “Schools that decide to open will need to require masking, distancing and routine testing. Please do your part to continue to slow the spread so that our recovery journey does not suffer a setback.”
So, it seems, no holidays equal no gatherings, which means COVID-19 infection rates drop. The L.A. County Dept. of Health is asking for the public not to gather for the upcoming holidays: Lunar New Year, Valentine’s Day, and Presidents Day. Statistics showed COVID-19 surged after the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. The public is still being asked to limit social gatherings to their households as we see a decline in COVID-19 after the major holiday surges. The coming weeks will show if guidelines were followed during the Super Bowl weekend.
These guidelines are all very important to follow especially since we are continually seeing new variants of COVID-19. Again, keep in mind, health officials have stated that mutations and variants are common place when it comes to viruses. Public Health has confirmed five additional cases of COVID-19 variant B.1.1.7. (U.K. variant), which brings it to eight cases in Los Angeles County. The B.1.1.7 variant is more easily transmissible, which means following the well-known health guidelines are more important than ever.
For more information and statistics on COVID-19 in Los Angeles County, please visit http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/
For more detailed information on COVID-19 vaccination plans in L.A. County and to sign up for a vaccination newsletter, visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com
