L.A. County: Improvements in Hospitalizations and COVID Positivity Rate

Vaccination (Photo – wyomingpublicmedia.org)

Looking back a year ago, much has changed in Los Angeles, while some things remain the same.

By News Desk

Last year in November, the County reported daily deaths in the low 20’s. Today, Public Health confirms 25 new deaths. Eleven people who passed away were over the age of 80, eight people were between the ages of 65 and 79, four people were between the ages of 50 and 64, and two people were between the ages of 30 and 49.

A year ago, about 7,200 people had lost their lives to the virus – today, that number has tragically increased by nearly 20,000. To date, Public Health has identified a total of 26,838 deaths and 1,509,073 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County.

There are 633 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 27% of these people are in the ICU. Last year at this time, there were over 900 patients each day receiving care for COVID-19 infections at hospitals.

Today’s test positivity rate is 1.0%, a dramatic decrease from last November 11th’s test positivity of 5.6%. While overall it is clear the County is in better shape this November than we were last fall, the similar numbers for deaths is a reminder of the destructive power of this virus, and the relatively high numbers of cases and hospitalizations a reflection of the dominance of the more infectious Delta variant.

Public Health continues to track both staff and student cases at schools. Last week, there were 500 student cases and more than 2,600 student close contacts at schools. Among staff, we saw about 101 cases and 173 close contacts. These case numbers represent a 53% decline in student cases and a 48% decline in staff cases from the prior week. There were two outbreaks in the week ending November 6: one in an elementary school and one in a youth sports program. With more than 3,000 TK-12 schools in L.A. County, this is a remarkably low number of outbreaks. Although we expect to continue to see outbreaks, we also expect that as confidence in vaccination safety for children increases – and with it, rising vaccination levels in school-aged children – we will eventually blunt outbreaks substantially.

Out of nearly 10.3 million L.A. County residents, including those who are not eligible for the vaccine, 70% have received at least one dose, and 63% are fully vaccinated. More than 865,000 additional or booster doses have been administered in L.A. County. As of November 9, nearly 25,500 children aged 5 to 11 years old, nearly 3% of eligible residents in this age group, received their first doses of the vaccine.

To find a vaccination site near you  or make an appointment at a vaccination site, visit: VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and VacunateLosAngeles.com  (Spanish). If you don’t have internet access, can’t use a computer, or you’re over 65, you can call 1-833-540-0473 for help finding an appointment, connecting to free transportation to and from a vaccination site, or scheduling a home-visit if you are homebound.