LA County sees 20 times more COVID-19 cases in a month – CBS Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed 2,551 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday. This is a 20-fold increase in one month, with 124 new cases of COVID-19 reported on June 21.

The positivity rate for Wednesday’s tests is 5.2%; the rate was 0.7% a month ago, public health officials said.

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Of the new cases reported by public health, 83% are in people under the age of 50 with 65% of the new cases in people aged 18 to 49, the department said.

There are 585 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 23% of those people are in intensive care. As of June 21, there were 213 people hospitalized with COVID-19.

Of the seven new deaths reported on Wednesday, two people who died were between 65 and 79, three who died were between 50 and 64 and one deceased was between 30 and 49.

One death has been reported by the city of Long Beach. To date, public health has identified 1,273,390 positive cases of COVID-19 in all areas of LA County and a total of 24,594 deaths. Test results are available for more than 7,200,000 people, including 16% of those who test positive.

People who are not vaccinated are at the greatest risk of becoming infected with COVID-19, health officials have warned. Unvaccinated adults who are older or have certain medical conditions are most at risk for serious COVID-19 disease.

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To reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection, public health officials recommend that individuals:

-To get vaccinated.
-Wear a mask that fits you.
-Avoid crowded places.
– Wash your hands and / or use hand sanitizer often.
-Avoid eating and touching your face with unwashed hands.
-Stay at home in case of illness.

In Los Angeles County, anyone 2 years of age and older must wear a mask in all indoor public places, regardless of their immunization status, health officials said.

The public health department said on Wednesday that everyone, regardless of their vaccination status, should continue to wear a mask in all public transport and transit centers, in all health facilities, correctional facilities, shelters and cooling centers, schools and daycares.

“To all of you who have lost a friend or loved one to COVID-19, we send you our thoughts and prayers,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, director of public health. “Due to the more infectious Delta variant and the mix of unmasked individuals with unknown vaccine status, we are unfortunately seeing an increase in cases in Los Angeles.”

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Anyone 12 years and older living or working in LA County can get the COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccines are widely available throughout LA County and many sites are open on weekends and have evening hours.