LA County tells essential workers to wear face masks at home

Los Angeles County health officials are asking essential workers to wear face masks inside their own homes to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in an area where the virus kills someone every seven minutes .

Barbara Ferrer, Los Angeles County Director of Public Health, said Monday that ‘because there is so much spread we recommend people wear their masks while they are inside the house ”.

Ferrer said this includes anyone who leaves their home everyday to work or run errands for family members. She said it’s especially important for people who go to work every day and live with elderly residents or with residents with an underlying health condition.

She said it will “add a layer of protection as we ride this wave”.

Los Angeles County is the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak, accounting for about 40% of virus-related deaths in California and a large number of new cases.

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Nearly 8,000 people were hospitalized in Los Angeles County on Monday, which had fewer than 50 intensive care units available in an area of ​​10 million people, said Dr Christina Ghaly, county director of health services. .

There is a silver lining, with new hospitalizations statewide dropping from around 3,500 a day earlier this month to around 2,500. Some forecasts predict that hospitalizations will level off by the end of the day. of the month.

While the county has seen a drop in new cases, Ferrer said it was likely due to a decrease in testing after the New Year’s holidays.

She predicted another rise in cases of people flocking together in insecurity over the holidays.

Ferrer said COVID-19 still kills someone in the county every seven minutes, on average. Deaths have risen from 12 deaths per day in early November to more than 200 deaths per day reported last week.

“Now is not the time to meet friends back home to watch the game. Now is not the time to walk around without a mask. All it takes is one mistake and soon five, 10 or 20 more people are infected – many of whom could be your friends, family or colleagues, ” Ferrer said in a statement.

“This deadly virus continues to spread at alarming rates and the most important way to stop it is to avoid interactions with others and to protect ourselves at all times,” she added.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has reported 932,697 positive cases of COVID-19 in all areas of LA County and a total of 12,387 deaths.

Meanwhile, California as a whole is transforming baseball stadiums, fairgrounds and even a Disneyland Resort parking lot into mass vaccination sites as the coronavirus outbreak overwhelms hospitals.

California’s COVID-19 death toll reached 30,000 on Monday, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.

It took the country’s most populous state six months to reach 10,000 deaths, but barely a month to go from 20,000 to 30,000. California ranks third nationally for COVID-19-related deaths, behind Texas and New York, which is No. 1 with nearly 40,000.

Public health officials have estimated that about 12% of those who catch the virus will need hospital care, usually several weeks after infection as they become sicker.

Gavin Newsom government and public health officials are counting on widespread immunizations to help stem the tide of new infections, starting with medical staff and the most vulnerable elderly, such as those in nursing homes.

Newsom, a Democrat, admitted that the vaccine rollout has been too slow and he pledged that a million vaccines will be administered this week, more than double what has been done so far.

This effort will require what Newsom has called a “ hands-on approach to the bridge, ” including the delivery of vaccines by pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, dentists, paramedics and emergency medical technicians, and emergency medical technicians. members of the California National Guard.

Orange County, south of Los Angeles County, announced Monday that its first mass vaccination site will be in a parking lot at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim. It is one of five sites to be set up to vaccinate thousands of people daily.

The sites are “ absolutely essential in stopping this deadly virus, ” County Supervisor Doug Chaffee said in a statement.

The state will significantly expand its efforts with new mass vaccination sites in the parking lots at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Petco Park in San Diego, and CalExpo in Sacramento.

Cars lined up early Monday near the stadium in downtown San Diego, where officials aimed to vaccinate 5,000 health workers a day.

“ It’s kind of like a drive to Disneyland ” with cars going around, said Heather Buschman, spokeswoman for UC San Diego Health, whose medical staff were administering the shots.

She said people seemed to be eager to get vaccinated, with more than 12,500 health care workers in San Diego County initially making appointments.

By the end of the week, the city of Los Angeles planned to convert its massive COVID-19 test site at Dodger Stadium into a vaccination center to process 12,000 vaccinations per day.

Lawmakers have also continued to advocate for people to maintain their social distancing to slow the spread of the infection.

“Dying from COVID in hospital means dying alone,” County Oversight Board Chair Hilda Solis said.

“Visitors are not allowed to enter hospitals for their own safety. Families share their final farewells on tablets and mobile phones.

“ One of the most heartbreaking conversations our healthcare workers share is about these last words when kids apologize to their parents and grandparents for bringing COVID into their homes, for making them sick. ” , Solis said. ‘

And these apologies are just a few of the last words loved ones will ever hear.