City Council to Receive COVID-19 Update From Health, Medical Officials

The city’s Health Director Dr. Ying-Ying Goh and Dr. Lori Morgan, president of Huntington Hospital, will present a COVID-19 update to the City Council on Monday.

The update comes as COVID-19 Omicron variant cases continue to soar and the number of COVD-19 positive patients at Huntington is higher than at any time since last year’s Delta variant surge.

The Pasadena Public Health Dept. remained a day behind in reporting new infections all last week, and did not report on Friday. However the numbers it did release showed 1,645 new Cornavirus cases in Pasadena from Sunday through Thursday last week, the most in any five consecutive days since the pandemic began.

Locally 15 patients were in the Huntington Hospital intensive care unit and 88 overall in the hospital battling COVID-19 as of Saturday.

Los Angeles County set another daily record with 45,584 positive COVID-19 tests Sunday, just two days after it broke the old daily record on friday with 43,712 infections. The county report 13 more COVID-related fatalities on Sunday.

Surging infection numbers prompted the county this week to amend its public health order, requiring employers to provide upgraded masks to employees who work indoors in close contact with others.

The order, issued Wednesday, will take effect Jan. 17 and requires employers to provide affected workers with “well-fitting medical grade masks, surgical masks, or higher-level respirators, such as N95 or KN95 masks.”

Pasadena quickly released a statement that the Pasadena Public Health Department also will issue an order requiring Pasadena employers to provide upgraded masks, such as N95s, to their on-site employees, contract workers and volunteers.

The order will likely take effect on Jan. 17, the same day as the County order.

The revised order also amended the definition of outdoor “mega events,” where masking is required, to 5,000 or more attendees; and the definition of indoor “mega” events to 500 or more people. The numbers align with those in the state’s health order. The county’s order also “recommends” that food and drink be consumed only in designated dining areas.

The upgraded mask requirement for county workplaces mirrors an order released late last week by the county for K-12 schools, requiring teachers and staff to wear higher-grade face coverings. USC announced this week it will require all students and staff to wear higher-grade masks when in-person classes resume.