Los Angeles County has 5th consecutive day of 1,000 COVID-19 cases

ANGELS – With locals COVID-19[female[feminine the number of infections increases, exceeding 1,000 new cases for the fifth consecutive day, Los Angeles County Supervisors lamented the continued resistance to vaccines on Tuesday while health officials announced an awareness effort to bring vaccines to people’s doors.

The county reported 1,103 new cases of COVID on Tuesday, bringing the cumulative total for the entire pandemic to 1,259,772. The county also reported 12 new deaths from the virus, bringing the death toll to 24,554.

The seven-day rolling average rate of people testing positive for the virus was 2.9% on Tuesday, down from 2.8% on Monday and well above the rate of 0.3% in mid-June.

State figures, meanwhile, showed hospitalizations due to COVID in Los Angeles County topped the 400 mark, reaching 398. That was down from 376 on Monday. There were 94 people in intensive care, up from 85 a day earlier.

While the number of hospitalizations is still relatively low compared to the total number of patients during the winter wave which reached 8,000, the slow and steady increase in recent weeks is causing concern among health officials, who say that this increase underlines the importance of vaccinations.

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Even without the same level of threat to the health system that we experienced during the outbreak, these increasing cases among all groups and the disproportionately higher rates among black and Latin residents are both concerning and require continued action. to prevent the spread and poor outcomes among those who have already suffered the most during this pandemic, ”County health official Dr Muntu Davis told the oversight board.

“It is clear that the threat of COVID-19 is still with us, and that we are dealing with a more infectious variant that is causing it. And the best collective action any of us can take is to get vaccinated … and take reasonable precautions if you are not eligible or choose not to be vaccinated.

County Medical Services Director Dr Christina Ghaly told supervisors on Tuesday that none of the county-run hospitals had admitted a single COVID-19 patient who was fully vaccinated.

“Every patient we’ve admitted for COVID hasn’t been fully vaccinated yet, and it’s hard for healthcare workers to see,” Ghaly said. “They have spent hours, effort, energy trying to cure the patients, and at this point it really is a preventable disease, a preventable infection.”

County supervisor Sheila Kuehl said people who refuse to be vaccinated ignore the impact they have on healthcare workers.

“I really want to continue to say a prayer to all those who are not vaccinated to understand the impact they are having, not only on their communities and their families, but on other people in their communities who are the workers of. health, which are people working more than 14, 15, 16 hours a day to take care of themselves when they don’t want to take care of themselves, ”Kuehl said.

“I’m sorry for sounding a little angry, but that strikes me as extremely selfish. We can’t count on herd immunity if the herd doesn’t get their vaccines.”

Supervisor Hilda Solis called Kuehl’s comments “very relevant”, and supervisor Janice Hahn shared her “sincere anguish for anyone who does not get the vaccine.”

The growing number of cases is largely attributed to the highly infectious “Delta” variant of the COVID-19 virus. Davis again noted that black and Latino residents – who have the lowest vaccination rates in the county – bear the brunt of rising new cases and rising hospitalizations.

Davis said the county has started a pilot project that uses contact tracers to deliver vaccines to people’s homes, starting in East Los Angeles, which has a low vaccination rate.

“The purpose of this project is to vaccinate close contacts of COVID-19 cases,” Davis said.

When close contacts of people who contract the virus are reached by county authorities, they are offered the option of being vaccinated by a nurse who comes to their home.

“This happens once they are identified and if they are ready to be vaccinated,” Davis said.

He said the program also offers to “vaccinate their contacts as well, to create a circle of fully vaccinated people around them.”

The program began in eastern Los Angeles on Friday, but could be expanded to other areas with low vaccination rates if it proves successful.

Davis continued to urge adherence to mask-wearing guidelines in workplaces and other public places. He also urged people to reconsider their travel plans as cases increase.

“I want to recommend, especially if you haven’t been vaccinated, reconsidering your trip to places where seven-day COVID-19 case rates are increasing or are high, like our neighbor Nevada, or Missouri, the Florida, Arkansas, Louisiana and others, ” he said.

Hoping to encourage more people to get vaccinated, the county continues to offer incentives. Until Thursday, anyone who gets vaccinated at sites operated by the County, City of Los Angeles or the Well Child and Family Center in St. John’s will have a chance to win one of seven concert ticket prizes. , including seats at the Hollywood Bowl. and tickets to Staples Center concerts including Celine Dion, Grupo Firma, Luke Bryan, Kane Brown and Dan + Shay.

According to the most recent figures from the Department of Public Health, among county residents aged 16 and older, 69% have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 61% are fully immunized. The rate among black residents, however, is only 45% with at least one dose, compared to 54% for Latino residents, 65% for white residents and 76% for Asians. Vaccination rates continue to be particularly low among young black residents, with just 28% of those aged 18 to 29 vaccinated.