Pasadena Sees 3rd Straight Week Without Any COVID-19 Deaths

Pasadena marked three full weeks without a single COVID-19 death reported in the city as two new infections were detected on Friday.

The new cases raised the city’s pandemic total slightly to 11,280 confirmed cases of the virus, according to Pasadena Public Health Department data.

With no fatalities reported since April 30, the local death toll has held steady at 346.

“We’re making significant progress and continue to host vaccination clinics almost daily at churches, schools and other venues where people know each other and encourage one another to get vaccinated so these respective groups can get back to their everyday routines,” city spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said.

The city’s average number of daily infections over the prior week stood at 1.7, records show.

Officials reported on Tuesday that more than 64% of the city population over 12 years old had been fully vaccinated. Vaccination efforts have continued through the week, however and updated figure was not available

Los Angeles County public health officials reported detecting 264 new infections, along with 15 fatalities, on Friday.

In all, the county had documented 1,238,367 COVID-19 infections and 24,154 fatalities, according to the L.A. County Department of Public Health. The daily positivity rate was measured at 0.4%.

The county planned to align with the state’s plans regarding a full reopening on June 15, “that ease many capacity limits and distancing requirements and adopt CDC’s masking guidelines for vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals,” county officials said in a written statement. “People who are fully vaccinated will no longer need to wear masks in most situations.There are specific requirements for large capacity indoor events.”

County officials also intended to lift travel restrictions on June 15, bringing local recommendations in line with CDC guidelines, the statement said. “Current County reopening protocols will be amended or retired on June 15 to reflect these changes.”

Ferrer said she, “like everyone in California,” was looking forward to June 15.

“Together, we all worked hard and continue to work hard to keep numbers of cases, hospitalizations and deaths low in L.A. County,” she said. “I can’t emphasize enough how the vaccine has allowed us to get to a place where we can safely do the things that we loved to do before the pandemic.”

“If you have been putting off getting vaccinated, I ask that you not delay any longer,” Ferrer added. “The COVID-19 infection, hospitalizations and deaths that are still occurring are almost all among people not fully vaccinated. This is preventable.”

The California Department of Public Health announced 1,627 new infections and 69 deaths on Friday, which brought the pandemic totals 3,670,469 cases of COVID-19 and 61.672 fatalities.

The state’s average positivity rate over the prior week held steady at 1.7%.

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