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Biggest NFL game poses huge risk of coronavirus transmission if large numbers of residents gather to watch and celebrate the Super Bowl with other households, Los Angeles County health officials warned this week .
While the county, like California as a whole, is seeing a promising drop in coronavirus cases and COVID-19 hospitalizations following a devastating weeks-long surge, that progress remains precarious – and could easily be eroded, they said, so too many Angelenos warn the wind when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs take the field on Feb. 7.
“It will be tragic if the Super Bowl becomes a super-spreader of the coronavirus,” County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said on Wednesday.
County health officials have long emphasized that organized gatherings among households are a major driver of coronavirus transmission. The risk is increased in crowded indoor environments; when people are not wearing masks; and when they chant, sing or scream – as this can propel respiratory aerosols and droplets that carry the virus even further.
This is why health officials have been alarmed by the celebrations, both impromptu and planned, staged to mark the Lakers and Dodgers’ fall championship triumphs, and why a generally huge social event such as the Super Bowl is concerning.
An increase in transmission could slow or halt the county’s progress towards wider reopenings or fuel the now stalled outbreak that has resulted in more than 8,800 reported COVID-19 deaths across the county since November 1.
“Every person and every business must continue to take every precaution every day to avoid transmission,” Ferrer said. “It’s really up to us to decide if we can support these reopenings without compromising everyone’s health and our ability to reopen more schools.”
This year, sports fans should “play it safe,” Ferrer said. “Don’t have a house party. Don’t go to a Super Bowl party.
For the first time in two months, LA County officially authorized the resumption of private gatherings this week, provided they are held outdoors, attended by members of up to three households and up to 15 people.
But the relaxation of the ban on reunions, Ferrer said, “is intended to allow only one household to form a small, stable social group with one or two other households, so that you can meet occasionally – always outside. , always keeping six feet apart and always with no more than 15 people.
“It just doesn’t work,” she added, “if every night people get together with a different group of people to have little parties.”
An increase in transmission, officials warn, will trigger a domino effect. More people infected mean more people will be hospitalized for COVID-19 in the coming weeks. Some of these people will eventually need treatment in an intensive care unit, and some will die from the disease.
“We can’t let this happen,” said Dr. Christina Ghaly, director of LA County Health Services. “We cannot let the current high number of COVID patients still in hospital become normal for us. It is simply not sustainable. “
Just over 6,000 coronavirus-positive Angelenos were hospitalized across the county on Tuesday, according to the state’s latest available data. At the height of a wave seen over the summer, that number peaked at just over 2,200.
“If you care about our children, if you care about our small businesses, we need you to follow public health guidelines all the time,” Ferrer said, such as wearing masks in public, practicing physical distancing and do not organize crowded gatherings.
“Each of us must make very careful choices about what we do. Please do not start socializing again with many people outside your household.
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