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Los Angeles County health officials on Saturday reported 4,283 new cases of the coronavirus, the highest daily number reported in months and which public health officials have attributed to the high rates of transmission of the Delta variant and to the significant increase in testing.
Although officials from the Ministry of Public Health have expressed concern over the increase in the number of cases, they have warned that some of them could be attributed to a greater number of adults and children returned to the country. work and school and get tested for the virus.
“Routine testing programs are increasing in businesses and schools across LA County,” officials said in a statement. “Due to the increase in testing programs, there will be faster identification of asymptomatic people infected with COVID-19.”
County officials said the latest push was showing signs, perhaps not of easing, but of stabilizing somewhat. The positivity rate for daily tests on Saturday was 4.7%, a slight drop from the 6.3% rate last week. The daily positivity rate is defined as the percentage of all reported coronavirus tests that are positive, officials said.
Although it is still early days, Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said there are promising signs that the county ordinance issued in mid-July obliging everyone, even those who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, wearing masks in indoor public spaces may have the purpose effect.
“It’s hard to say with 100% certainty that this is the factor that allowed us to have a slightly better slowdown in the spread than other places, but I know for sure that it helped, just because that data [are] really conclusive about the importance of masking indoors and how it actually reduces transmission, ”Ferrer said.
The county also reported 13 more COVID-19-related deaths on Saturday. Of the 13 reported deaths, three were over 80, four were between 65 and 79, four were between 50 and 64, and two were between 30 and 49.
To date, authorities have identified 1,323,345 cases of COVID-19 across the county and 24,769 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
More than 1,380 people are being treated in hospitals for the coronavirus, including 22% in the intensive care unit, officials said. The public health service did not provide data on the number of people vaccinated before their hospitalization.
The hospitalization rate is also increasing among unvaccinated people, while remaining very low among those who have received the vaccine, health officials said.
The authorities continue to stress that vaccination is the best way to avoid serious illness and hospitalization.
“Although indoor masking, quarantine and isolation of cases and close contacts are effective strategies for reducing transmission, the fastest way to slow the spread is to increase immunization coverage,” he said. Ferrer said.
Hundreds of places across LA County continue to offer the vaccines free to residents, regardless of their immigration status or if they have insurance coverage.
Ferrer said she was comforted on Saturday while working at the Obregon Park vaccination clinic to see several teenagers come in for their vaccinations, which will help ensure schools reopen safely.
Many young people, aged 12 to 17, remain unvaccinated in the Antelope Valley and the south-central region of the county, officials said. In Lancaster, only 36% of young people had received at least one dose last Sunday, and in Acton, only 30%. The numbers were somewhat better in Palmdale, with 49% of young people between the ages of 12 and 17 having received at least one dose of the vaccine.
In Compton, only 38% of young people had received at least one dose. The city of Carson has seen somewhat better numbers, 56% of young people, according to data from the health department.
Overall, nearly 6 million of LA County’s 8.3 million people eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations had received at least one dose as of August 1, according to health data. Of those 6 million, nearly 5.3 million were fully immunized.
Among residents 65 and older, 79% were fully immunized.
“With the overwhelming evidence for the safety and effectiveness of the three vaccines used in the United States, and the threat these high rates of transmission pose to our recovery, now is the time for all eligible people to get vaccinated, ”Ferrer said.
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