COVID-19 Cases Trending Down Among Those Experiencing Homelessness in L.A. County

Cases of COVID-19 among people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles County have declined significantly in recent weeks, officials said Wednesday.

The L.A. County Department of Public Health documented 107 infections among county residents over the past week, compared with 188 weekly infections in August, representing a decline of 43%.

And Wednesday’s statistics included the addition of 67 patients from prior weeks who were only recently identified as experiencing homelessness, the agency said in a written statement.

“Tragically, seven people experiencing homelessness passed away from COVID-19 this week,” according to the statement.

Since the start of the pandemic, county health officials have recorded 9,307 cases of the virus among transient patients and 244 deaths.
“Of these people who passed away, 116 were sheltered, 78 were unsheltered, and for 50 people who passed away, their shelter status was unknown,” the statement said.

Efforts to increase vaccination among those experiencing homelessness continue at the county level, as well as locally in Pasadena.

L.A. County Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer thanked those working to address the issue.

“We are grateful to all those supporting and caring for our neighbors experiencing homelessness. As we have seen over the past six months, lowering community transmission has a ripple effect of reducing cases among those most vulnerable — people experiencing homelessness, residents at nursing homes and children under 12,’ she said.

“The most powerful — even if not perfect — tool for slowing spread and saving lives and livelihoods are the three COVID-19 vaccines,” Ferrer said. “Let’s stay focused on getting vaccines to every neighborhood and to everyone not yet vaccinated so that we end this pandemic.”

Looking at the entire county population, L.A. County Department of Public Health officials reported 1,005 new infections and 17 deaths on Wednesday.

L.A. County’s pandemic totals stood at 1,473,410 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 26,353 deaths.

Authorities listed 684 COVID-19 hospitalizations in the county, with 26% of patients housed in ICUs.

Wednesday daily test positivity rate inched upward to 1%.

The Pasadena Public Health Department reported nine new infections and no deaths on Wednesday.

The city had seen 13,362 confirmed infections, in total, along with 363 fatalities, according to PPHD data.

An average of 11 new infections were detected daily in Pasadena over the prior week.

Pasadena Unified School District officials reported 29 student infections over the prior week, as well as two among staff members.

Huntington Hospital listed 13 admitted COVID-19 patients, including four being housed in intensive care units. Ten of those in the hospital, including two of the patients in intensive care, were unvaccinated.

At the state level, public health officials announced 4,034 new COVID-19 cases and 106 deaths on Wednesday, bringing the statewide totals to 4,561,319 infections and 69,862 fatalities.

The statewide weekly positivity rate dipped by a tenth of a percent to 2.1%, according to California Department of Public Health records.

As of Wednesday, L.A. County represented 32% of California’s COVID-19 infections and 38% of the state’s fatalities.