COVID-19 Hospitalizations in County Continue Decline, New Vaccination Requirements Begin

The number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 throughout Los Angeles County continued to decline Thursday after dropping below 900 for the first time since July.

L.A. County Public Health officials reported 872 patients being treated for the virus, with 29% of them being housed in intensive care units.

Officials listed 892 hospitalizations as of Wednesday, and 992 as of a week ago.

The Delta variant continued to make up 100% of sequenced samples in the county, county public health officials said in a written statement.

Authorities reported 1,535 new infections across the county and 28 new deaths, raising the pandemic totals to 1,459,182 COVID-19 cases and 26,106 deaths.

Thursday’s county-wide test positivity rate was measured at 1.6%.

Pasadena public health officials announced 18 new infections and no new deaths on Thursday. In total, the city had seen 13,233 confirmed cases of the virus and 361 fatalities.

Over the prior week, an average of 13.1 new infections were discovered daily, according to city records.

The Pasadena Unified School District listed 10 student infections and two among staff members over the prior week.

Numerous new policies and restrictions related to vaccination mandates are quickly approaching deadlines.

Healthcare and home health workers in the county were required to show proof of full vaccination as of Thursday, authorities said.

“Earlier this week, the state issued a new order requiring workers in adult and senior care facilities and in home direct care settings to be fully vaccinated by November 30,” according to the L.A. County Department of Public Health statement. “LA. County employees have until October 1 and L.A. City employees have until October 5.”

The deadline for Pasadena city employees passed on Sept. 17.

Proof of full vaccination or a recent negative test result will be mandatory for outdoor “mega events” in the county’s jurisdiction beginning Oct. 7, county officials said. Employees of indoor portions of bars, lounges, nightclubs, breweries, distilleries and wineries will be required to show proof of at least one dose by the same date.

“On November 4, bars and similar establishments throughout L.A. County will be required to verify full vaccination of all patrons and employees prior to entry to indoor portions of their establishments,” the statement added.

Under a state mandate, all teachers in California must be vaccinated by Oct. 15 or undergo weekly testing.

Students 12 and older in the Los Angeles Unified School District are required to show proof of vaccination by Dec. 19.

And under a federal order, all federal workers must be fully vaccinated by Nov. 22.

L.A. County Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer said she hoped the new policies would increase vaccination rates, thus saving lives.

“As we go through the next couple of months, helping organizations and establishments comply with vaccination requirements will be a focus for our public health teams. We continue to see high rates of compliance with other safety measures and anticipate similar cooperation with the implementation of the vaccination verification requirements,” she said.

“Targeted vaccination requirements are a critical strategy for keeping people safe — and they have a lot in common with many other public health measures employed to protect people from harm,” according to Ferrer. “Unvaccinated persons are more likely to get infected and spread the virus, which is transmitted through the air. The goal of these targeted vaccination mandates is to reduce the risks to keep everyone safe while moving us as quickly as possible toward the end of the pandemic.”

State public health officials reported 5,967 new cases of COVID-19 and 153 deaths on Thursday, raising the statewide tallies to 4,488,848 infections and 68,670 fatalities.

The state’s weekly positivity rate was measured at 2.6%, according to California Department of Public Health data.

As of Thursday, L.A. County accounted for 33% of California’s COVID-19 cases and 38% of the state’s fatalities.