COVID-19 Update from the Department of Public Health: Issue 2

COVID-19 Update 

When Los Angeles County reinstated universal masking indoors three weeks ago, the number of COVID-19 cases was doubling every 10 days. Thankfully, we are now seeing a slowing down in the increase of cases. Since LA County was the first county in the state to reinstate masking, it is valuable to compare trends in LA County with those in the rest of the state.

When we compare cases that were reported in the week ending August 1^st with those that were reported in the week ending August 8^th, Los Angeles County went from seeing 19,704 cases to seeing 20,979 cases, an increase of 6.5%. 

Meanwhile, in the remainder of the state, reported cases went from over 46,000 in the week ending August 1^st to 55,422 in the week ending August 8^th, an increase of 20.2%. 

Although there may be reasons beyond masking contributing to this difference, data from around the world and from our county has repeatedly shown that masking is a valuable layer of protection, and we are grateful to everyone who is doing their part by masking up to help slow the spread.

Vaccinations remain the most powerful tool to slow the spread, as high rates of vaccination allow us to remain fully open and protect those not yet eligible or able to get vaccinated. We also need to use masking, distancing, and infection control. All of these strategies are necessary right now and provide the best opportunity to blunt the spread of this virus.

With the recent increases in cases in both adults and children, many parents are anxious about sending their children back to school. In LA County, we recently revised our K-12 school reopening protocols to layer in a variety of protections in order to prevent transmission of COVID-19 in schools.

• Face coverings will continue to be required indoors for everyone regardless of vaccination status, including during indoor PE classes, unless a person is alone in a room.
  • Students who are exempt from mask wearing because of a documented disability or other condition should not be excluded from in-person education, and appropriate accommodations should be made on a case by case basis. Students who are excluded from campus because they elect not to wear a face covering should be offered alternative educational opportunities.
• We continue to recommend physical distancing as long as it does not interfere with full-time attendance for all students, and infection control remains essential.
• Many schools have established routine testing programs to provide an additional layer of protection.
  • All unvaccinated students and staff should be included in routine testing and where resources are sufficient, fully vaccinated individuals should also be included.
• Every school will have a plan on how to manage cases and outbreaks and will notify the public health department whenever there are cases. All positive cases are required to isolate, and all close contacts of each case should be tested and are required to quarantine unless they are fully vaccinated and without any symptoms.

And while schools have been working closely with us over the summer to create environments that promote safety, communicating with your child’s school ahead of the start of the school year can help ensure they’re prepared to help keep themselves and their friends safe. We recommend you:

• Talk to your kids about hand hygiene and appropriately wearing their mask. Also, it’s a good idea to send your child to school with extra face coverings so they can easily change masks if theirs gets wet or dirty.
• Ensure you have a strategy for checking daily for symptoms at home, and as best you can, have an emergency childcare plan in place so that if your child becomes ill, they are able to safely stay home from school.
• If any of your children are 12 or older, please let them know about the importance of getting vaccinated and help them get to a vaccine site where they can get the Pfizer vaccine.

Parents can also get involved through the Parent Ambassador Program, where they can learn about COVID-19 and how to keep schools safe.

Homebound Vaccinations

In-Home COVID-19 vaccinations are available! Los Angeles County residents can apply for an in-home vaccination in 2 ways:

1. Call the DPH Vaccine Call Center 833-540-0473 open daily 8am to 8:30pm, or
2. Fill out the online request form: English | Español | 简体中文 | 繁體中文 | العربية | հայերեն | អក្សរខ្មែរ | 日本語 | 한국어 | Русский | Tiếng Việt | فارسى | Tagalog. Please note that availability may be delayed due to high demand.

Long Beach residents can apply for in-home vaccination here and Pasadena residents can call the Pasadena Citizen Service Center at 626-744-7311, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. at 4 p.m.

Watch how nurses are fanning out across the county to make vaccinations available to homebound residents.

It is recommended you follow @lapublichealth on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for when appointments will be made available.  

Always check with trusted sources for the latest accurate information about novel coronavirus:

• Los Angeles County Department of Public Health http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/
• California Department of Public Health https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/Immunization/ncov2019.aspx
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019- ncov/index.html Spanish https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index-sp.html
• World Health Organization https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus
• LA County residents can also call 2-1-1