County Reports 1,635 New Cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, Reaching 10,000 For the Week

Los Angeles County reported another 1,635 cases of COVID-19 and four additional deaths Sunday, as the county continued seeing a resurgence in the pandemic in which local case rates and hospitalizations have skyrocketed.

It was the tenth consecutive day that at least 1,000 new cases were reported.

Sunday’s figures — which brought the county’s totals to 1,267,860 cases with 24,583 fatalities since the pandemic began — likely reflect reporting delays over the weekend, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

The numbers come hours after the county reinstituted its mask mandate.

Pasadena, which has its own health agency, has not aligned with the county and will continue only recommending indoor masking. But the city is monitoring “COVID case rates in Pasadena and are reviewing options for a mandate.”

The number of people hospitalized in Los Angeles County due to the virus jumped from 507 on Saturday to 528 Sunday, while the number of those patients in intensive care rose from 103 to 112, according to state figures.

Sunday’s daily test positivity rate was 3.8%. On July 4, it was near 1.5%, and on June 15 — the day most statewide restrictions were lifted — the test positivity was near 0.5%.

Health officials have attributed the recent spike to the presence of the more infectious Delta variant and the intermingling of unmasked individuals where vaccination status is unknown.

A new face-covering mandate went into effect in Los Angeles County at 11:59 p.m. Saturday that requires everyone to wear masks in indoor public spaces regardless of their vaccination status.

“Given the increased intermingling among unmasked people where vaccination status is unknown, the millions of people still unvaccinated, and the increased circulation of the highly transmissible Delta variant, we are seeing a rapid increase in COVID-19 infection,” said county Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer. “The level of COVID-19 transmission we are currently experiencing is now leading to significant increases in serious illness and hospitalizations, and requires us to take immediate action to prevent erosion of our recovery efforts.

“And while vaccinations are by far the most powerful tool we have, we are nowhere near herd immunity. While we continue efforts to increase vaccination coverage and build confidence in the vaccines, the simplest and most effective public health measure to add back is to require that everyone wear a mask in all indoor public places and businesses,” Ferrer said. 

“For those of us already vaccinated, we have been required for the last couple of months to continue to wear masks in many other public places including on all public transit, at all health care settings, schools and day care facilities. This was done in recognition that the vaccines, while extraordinarily effective, are not perfect and that we continue to have an obligation to reduce risk as much as possible,” she said.

The masking mandate was announced Thursday by county Health Officer Dr. Muntu Davis. 

“We’re not where we need to be for the millions at risk of infection here in Los Angeles County, and waiting to do something would be too late given what we’re seeing now,” Davis said.

Davis said the rate of virus spread in the county has officially risen from moderate to substantial, with infections five times more likely to occur among unvaccinated residents.

The county previously only recommended indoor mask-wearing by vaccinated people in an effort to slow the spread of the virus and protect unvaccinated residents. People who are unvaccinated have always been required to wear masks indoors, although enforcement was left up to individual business owners and was generally on the honor system.

The masking order will remain in place “until we see improvements” in case transmission, Davis said.

Asked if the county might consider re-implementing other health restrictions — such as capacity limits and physical distancing, Davis said, “Everything is on the table if things continue to get worse.” The mandate means customers are again required to mask up when entering any indoor public establishment, including retail shops, grocery stores, restaurants and workplaces. Davis said indoor dining will remain open,

but customers will have to remain masked while they are not eating or drinking.

Many customers had not stopped wearing masks even when the previous guidelines were lifted.