Los Angeles County Coronavirus Update: With Labor Day Approaching, “Parties Of Any Type Are Not Allowed Anywhere,” Say Health Officials

“As we approach the Labor day weekend, we must look at the lessons of these past few months,” said Los Angeles County Health Officer Dr. Muntu Davis on Monday. “We most forgo our holiday traditions.”

Davis stressed that, after the Memorial Day and July Fourth holidays, L.A. saw a “rapid increase” in cases.

Because of the threat of COVID-19 spread, the L.A. Department of Public Health reminded residents recently that “gatherings are not allowed unless specified by Health Officer Orders. This means parties of any type are not allowed anywhere, including at the beach or park.

“It is evident we are making progress, and this is a testament to the collective efforts of so many,” said county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer. “As we evaluate how to best continue our recovery journey without experiencing the spikes we saw in July, we need to consider the magnitude of increased exposures created with each sector re-opening.

“Moving forward, especially in a county as large as ours, requires a thoughtful assessment of what measures are in place to protect residents and employees,” continued Ferrer. “Whether we are looking at how to best support school children, or hair salon operators, we have to move forward responsibly since there is no path to economic recovery without slowing the spread of COVID-19. Not respecting the seriousness of the pandemic only makes it harder to open up more of our county.”

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California Coronavirus Update: Governor Gavin Newsom Reveals Stricter,

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday released a revised system for tracking counties’ efforts to slow the spread of coronavirus, and providing guidance on possible reopening of more businesses and schools. But the county stressed that local officials had not yet fully reviewed the new state guidance, and the local health order has not been changed to allow such businesses to reopen.

Newsom’s new tier structure breaks down as follows:

Said Ferrer: “In order for our county to move through the state’s tier structure which will allow us to reopen more businesses, we must slow the COVID-19 transmission rates we are seeing. Currently, we are in Tier 1 with widespread community transmission and an average of about 13 new cases a day per 100,000 residents. This tier carries the most restrictions for the re-opening of many sectors. To demonstrate reduced spread of the virus and move to Tier 2, we need to reduce our transmission rate to 7 new cases a day per 100,000 residents.”

For comparison, under the old state guidance, the threshold to come off the county-by-county watch list was set at 100 cases per 100,000.

While the county’s positivity rate has dropped significantly, it is still “nearly double” what it takes to move into Tier 2, said Davis.

“For everyone throwing or attending parties, hanging out in crowded spaces, or insisting that the public health rules don’t apply to you or your business,” said Ferrer, “your actions make it much more likely that we remain in Tier 1 for many weeks to come; this makes it harder for our children to get back to school and for many adults to get back to work.”

A month ago, the county’s daily hospitalizations decreased by 48 percent, from 2,220 on July 31 to 1,043 on Monday. The 7-day average of new cases has also declined steadily over the past month. On July 31 the 7-day average of new cases was 2,883 and today that number is 1,309, a decrease of 55 percent.

The Public Health Department confirmed 16 new deaths and 1,022 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday. To date, the department has identified 241,768 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County, and a total of 5,784 deaths.

Statewide, California saw a total of 4,176 new cases for a total of 704,085 since the pandemic began. There were 28 new deaths for a total of 12,933.

Hospitalizations and the number of ICU patients with coronavirus continued to fall.

The 14-day test positivity rate statewide was 5.3 percent.

City News Service contributed to this report.

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