Public Health Urges Vaccinations and Safety Precautions as COVID-19 Cases Continue to Increase; Fully Vaccinated Healthcare Workers Protected

5 New Deaths and 1,107 New Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

The Los Angeles County Dept. of Public Health (Public Health) confirms a doubling of new cases in a week with 1,107 new cases of COVID-19. Last Friday, Public Health reported 549 COVID-19 cases.

There are 320 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized – an increase from the 280 hospitalizations reported last Friday.

The daily test positivity rate on July 9 is 2.4% – an increase from last week’s rate of 1.5%.

The City of Glendale reports 20,380 cases, the City of La Cañada Flintridge reports 776 cases, Sunland reports 2,330 cases and Tujunga reports 2,987 cases. In the unincorporated portion of LA County, Angeles National Forest reports 33 cases and La Crescenta-Montrose reports 1,134 cases.

With increased COVID-19 transmission among unvaccinated people, Public Health encourages those who are eligible for COVID-19 vaccination and not yet vaccinated to get vaccinated without delay. It takes time before people are considered fully vaccinated. For all of the vaccines, people are only considered fully protected two weeks after all doses are complete. Vaccination is the best protection against this disease.

People not fully vaccinated should take all precautions – wear a mask in indoor public settings, move social activities outdoors as much as possible, and wash  hands or use hand sanitizer frequently when outside their home.

Currently, the low case rates among healthcare workers at nursing homes and at all healthcare facilities reflects their high vaccination rates. Healthcare worker cases plummeted since they began receiving vaccinations in December 2020. During the last week of December, there were nearly 2,000 new cases of COVID-19 among healthcare workers. Last week, there were 75 new cases among healthcare workers reported across the entire county.

To date, 271 healthcare workers have tragically passed away from COVID-19. At the peak of the surge, the week of January 3, 2021, 24 healthcare workers passed away. Since mid-May, two healthcare workers have passed away from COVID-19.

Throughout the pandemic, nursing facility staff have accounted for one-fourth of healthcare worker cases. Fortunately, cases among nursing facility staff also dropped since they began receiving vaccinations. The last week of December 2020, more than 1,100 nursing facility staff tested positive for COVID-19. For the week of June 20, a total of only six nursing facility staff tested positive for COVID-19. Currently, 84% of skilled nursing facility staff are fully vaccinated.

Of the five new deaths reported July 9, one person who passed away was over the age of 80, one person who died was between the ages of 50 and 64, and one person who passed was between the ages of 30 and 49. Two deaths were reported by the City of Long Beach. To date, Public Health identified 1,255,434 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of LA County and a total of 24,530 deaths. Testing results are available for more than 7,094,000 individuals with 16% of people testing positive.

“Our hearts go to everyone who has lost a loved one, a friend, a neighbor, or a co-worker to COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, director of Public Health. “There are slightly under 4 million residents in LA County who are not yet vaccinated against COVID-19, and the risk of increased spread remains high among communities with lower vaccination rates. This is particularly true if there are gatherings with unvaccinated friends and family in indoor settings. The need for masking and infection control among those not yet vaccinated remains important. This Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus spreads more easily than others. With vaccinations and good prevention measures, almost all of this transmission can be prevented.”

Beginning  Friday, July 9 through Thursday, July 15 at County-run vaccination sites, LA City sites, and St. John’s Well Child and Family Center sites, everyone 18 and older coming to get a vaccine will have an opportunity to win one of seven packages of concert tickets.

Visit www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish) to find a nearby vaccination site, to make an appointment at vaccination sites, and much more. Those who don’t have internet access, can’t use a computer, or are over 65 can call (833) 540-0473 for help finding an appointment, connecting to free transportation to and from a vaccination site, or scheduling a home-visit for those who are homebound. Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status.

COVID-19 Sector Protocols, Best Practices, COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard, COVID-19 Surveillance Interactive Dashboard, Recovery Dashboard, and additional actions people can take to protect themselves, their family and their community are on the Public Health website: www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.