LA County Reports Nearly 4,000 New COVID-19 Infections; intensified tests blamed – Daily News

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Los Angeles County reported nearly 4,000 new COVID-19 infections on Friday August 6, the highest number since February 6, but attributed the large number in part to increased testing required by businesses and schools.

The 3,930 new cases brought the county’s cumulative total throughout the pandemic to 1,319,216. The county also announced 17 more deaths from the virus, bringing the total death toll to 24,756.

The county public health department, noting the large number of daily cases, said the figure reflects “a significant increase in drug testing in businesses and schools.”

According to state figures, 1,383 people have been hospitalized in the county with COVID-19, including 303 people in intensive care. The number of hospitalizations is the highest since the beginning of March.

Health officials have attributed the sharp rise in infections over the past two months to a highly infectious Delta variant of the virus that was first discovered in India.

“The continued increase in cases is a stark reminder that the response to the infectious Delta variant requires adjustments if we are to slow the spread,” county public health director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement. “Let’s continue to enjoy the time we spend with our friends and family doing activities that bring us joy, but let’s do it by adding sane protections. Wear a face mask indoors and in very crowded spaces outdoors. Move social gatherings outside and practice distancing when you are among unvaccinated people.

“If you can’t avoid close, sustained contact with people you don’t know, consider replacing your mask with a KN95 or respirator,” she said. “And please, if you can get the shot, do it now to avoid being part of the wave.”

The mobile average daily rate of people testing positive for the virus on Friday was 5.3%, down from 4.7% on Thursday.

Ferrer said Thursday that the rate of daily new infections and the rate of test positivity were both down noticeably from last week, offering some hope the spike in cases is starting to level off.

“… While we still have a significantly high case rate, just over two weeks ago, at the time of our recent health worker order requiring universal indoor masking, we also noted that our cases had doubled every 10 days, ”Ferrer said. . “What we are seeing now is a much smaller increase in our cases over a few weeks, which we hope 10 days after implementing an effective public health measure.”

Ferrer said that as of Aug. 1, the county saw a 22% week-over-week increase in the number of new cases, while the increase in the rest of the state was 57%. It’s a sign, she said, that Los Angeles County, which implemented a mandatory indoor mask warrant in mid-July, is now experiencing slower transmission of the virus. .

Ferrer said it was too early to say whether the mask requirement is responsible for improving the county, “but I know for sure it has helped.”

She also noted that the county has now seen three straight weeks of increases in the number of people receiving a first dose of the vaccine, after months of decline.

Among county residents aged 12 and over, 6.22 million have received at least one dose and 5.45 million are fully immunized. Of the county’s 10.3 million people, including more than one million who are not eligible for vaccines, 61% have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 53% are fully immunized.

Black residents aged 12 and over continue to have the lowest vaccination rate at 47%, followed by Latino residents at 56%, White residents at 67%, and Asians at 78%. Residents aged 12 to 15 have the lowest overall vaccination rate at 49%. Black residents between the ages of 12 and 15 have a vaccination rate of just 26%.

As a result, Ferrer said, black residents experience the highest rate of new COVID infections, at 426 per 100,000 residents during the two-week period that ended July 24. This was a 500% increase from the two-week period ending June 26. .

Ferrer again stressed the danger of the virus to unvaccinated residents, noting that from May 1 to July 17, people who had not been vaccinated were nearly four times more likely to be infected with COVID than residents. vaccinated. Of the 3,158 people hospitalized in the county during that time, only 8% were fully immunized.

Ferrer said that between April 1 and July 18, 95.2% of people aged 16 and older who died from COVID in the county were not vaccinated.

As of Aug. 3, of about 5 million fully vaccinated people in the county, 15,628 had tested positive for the virus, for an infection rate of 0.31%. Only 446 were hospitalized, for a rate of 0.009% and 41 died, a rate of 0.0008%.

Ferrer acknowledged that people who have been vaccinated can be infected with the virus, but are much less likely to become seriously ill or require hospitalization.

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