County Officials Urge Masking Indoors in Public Places Due to Delta Variant, Regardless of Vaccination

Public health officials reported detecting seven new cases of COVID-19 in Pasadena over the weekend and Monday, while county officials urged residents to wear masks while in public indoors to stem the spread of the emerging Delta variant.

The new cases raised Pasadena’s total infection count to 11,335 confirmed infections. With no fatalities reported since June 3, the local death toll held stable at 249, according to Pasadena Public Health Department data.

Over the prior week, an average of 2.1 new infections were detected in Pasadena daily, records show.

At the county level, officials reported 259 new infections and three deaths, raising the overall tallies to 1,249,560 cases of the virus and 24,480 fatalities.

Just under 240 people remained hospitalized with the virus in L.A. County, according to a county Department of Public Health statement.

With the more contagious, more potent Delta strain of COVID-19 taking hold in L.A. County, the agency “strongly recommends everyone, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks indoors in public places as a precautionary measure,” the statement said.

As of June 12, the Delta variant accounted for nearly half of all new cases in the county, officials said.

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted that Delta variants are now responsible for about one in every five new infections across the country, up from approximately one in every 10 the week before,” the statement said. “Public Health strongly recommends people wear masks indoors in settings such as grocery or retail stores; theaters and family entertainment centers, and workplaces when you don’t know everyone’s vaccination status.

“Until we better understand how and to who the Delta variant is spreading, everyone should focus on maximum protection with minimum interruption to routine as all businesses operate without other restrictions, like physical distancing and capacity limits,” the statement continued.

Fully vaccinated individuals appear to be well-protected from the new strain, however, protection is not as effective after a single dose of the two-dose vaccine regimens as with the original form of the virus, L.A. County Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer said.

“While COVID-19 vaccine provides very effective protection preventing hospitalizations and deaths against the Delta variant, the strain is proving to be more transmissible and is expected to become more prevalent,” she said. “Mask wearing remains an effective tool for reducing transmission, especially indoors where the virus may be easily spread through inhalation of aerosols emitted by an infected person.”

Infections identified in those who have become infected after being fully vaccinated have been mild, authorities said.

State health officials documented 1,245 new infections and four deaths on Monday, noting that the statistics included backlogged data following “datal cleaning efforts.”

In total, the state has seen 3,714,051 COVID-19 cases and 62,994 deaths, according to California Department of Public Health Data.

The state’s average positivity rate over the prior week increased to 1.2%.

As of Monday, L.A. County represented 34% of California’s COVID-19 infections and 39% of the state’s fatalities.