“To prevent increased circulation of variants or virus mutations that result in new variants of concern, it remains important to do everything we know how to do to prevent transmission,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “With 56% of L.A. County residents not yet fully vaccinated and all our children under 12 not yet able to get vaccinated, masking, distancing and infection control remain critically important strategies at many sites and for many activities.”
As L.A. County continues to operate within the yellow tier, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health says wearing masks are still priority. Even though it was recently announced that the mask mandate will be lifted June 15, wearing masks and social distancing continue to help slow down transmission. The following guidelines were released concerning masks:
*Masks are still required for everyone at large events, public transportation, retail, and business establishments and workplaces (under Cal/OSHA masking/distancing requirements)
*Masks are still required for all unvaccinated people and outdoors anytime distancing cannot be maintained
*Masks are still not required for fully vaccinated people including outdoors unless attending crowded events; Indoor and outdoor visits with other fully vaccinated people and with unvaccinated people from one household without high risk people
As of Monday, May 17, the L.A. County Dept. of Public Health confirmed 4 new deaths and 161 new cases of COVID-19. There were 322 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 with 17% of nearly 6,650,000 individuals testing positive with symptoms.
Public Health identified 1,237,561 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 24,097 deaths. Cases across the Southland: Los Angeles County shows 1,173,070 cases, Long Beach with 53,223 cases and Pasadena with 11,268.
According to race and ethnicity, COVID-19 statistics show: American Indian/Alaska Native with 1994; Asian with 56,286; Black with 46,109; Hispanic/Latino with 629,786; Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander with 4,199; White with 129,343; those of other race and ethnicity with 97,987 and 207,366 under investigation.
“We have come this far by taking care of each other, and to end this pandemic, we will need to remain willing to follow sensible safety modifications that make it possible to reduce cases and outbreaks while we increase the number of residents fully vaccinated,” said Ferrer. “So here in CA and L.A. County we ask that everyone continue to mask and practice social distancing indoors and around crowds as we work to increase the number of people vaccinated.”
Non-compliance and dangerous conditions at businesses and worksites can be reported to Public Health by phone at 888-700-9995 or online at www.publichealth.lacounty.gov. These tips can be submitted anonymously.
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
