LA County Updates Its COVID-19 Numbers: Feb. 22

The Los Angeles County Dept. of Public Health (Public Health) has confirmed 21 new deaths and 943 new cases of COVID-19. The lower number of deaths and cases may reflect reporting delays over the weekend. To date, Public Health identified 1,181,403 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of LA County and a total of 19,904 deaths.

The seven-day average number of daily cases peaked to more than 15,000 cases on Jan. 8 and has now dropped by 90% to 1,600 a day. This significant drop in case numbers reflects actions taken and choices made by millions of residents, workers and employers. Public Health notes this week is when the County could begin to see increases in cases resulting from gatherings over Super Bowl weekend.

Of the 21 new deaths reported today, Monday, five people who passed away were over the age of 80, six people were between the ages of 65 and 79, seven people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, two people were between the ages of 30 and 49, and one person who died was between the ages of 18 and 29.

The City of Glendale reported 18,274 cases, the Cit of La Cañada Flintridge reported 694 cases, Sunland reported 2,155 cases, Tujunga reported 2,677 cases and in the unincorporated portion of Los Angeles County, Angeles National Forest reported 31 cases, and La Crescenta-Montrose reported 1,008 cases.

There are 2,213 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 31% of these people are in the ICU. Testing results are available for nearly 5,771,000 individuals with 19% of people testing positive. Today’s daily test positivity rate is 3.4%.

“We know that there are many people across our county who are mourning the loss of someone to COVID-19. We send you our deepest condolences during this very sad time,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, director of Public Health. “Half a million people have passed away across our nation and, here in LA County, we are approaching the terrible milestone of 20,000 deaths. We hope that people chose to celebrate the Super Bowl and the President’s Day weekend safely, with members of their household. Should we continue to see less cases, we can move forward in our recovery, as lower case rates allow for other sector re-openings. Last week, the decline in the daily case rate allowed schools the option of reopening for in-class instruction for students in grades TK through six. When the case rate drops to seven new cases per 100,000, schools would have the option of allowing in class instruction for students in grades seven through 12.”

Nearly 1,771,000 doses of vaccine have been administered across the county. Of those vaccinated, 513,586 people have received second doses. Currently, only healthcare workers, residents and staff at long-term care facilities, and people who are age 65 or older, are eligible to be vaccinated and this accounts for approximately 2.2 million people in LA County. Of all those currently eligible for vaccine, 80% on average, have received at least one dose, and 23% are fully vaccinated.

There continues to be a scarcity of supply and variability in the amount of vaccine received from week to week. To date, Public Health has received 1,831,075 doses of vaccine. The County has capacity for almost 500,000 appointment slots this week; however, there are only enough doses for 209,000 appointments. The county’s large capacity vaccination sites alone could provide 157,000 additional doses this week if there was sufficient vaccine supply. At this time, as more vaccine comes into LA County, the priority is to ensure that eligible residents and workers in the hardest hit communities have easy access to vaccines.

On March 1, three additional sectors become eligible to receive vaccinations: education and childcare, food and agriculture, and emergency services and first responders. The County is working with these sectors and other partners to finalize vaccination strategies that offer multiple sites where eligible workers can get vaccinated. There are approximately 691,000 people in the education and childcare sector, 145,000 people in the emergency services and law enforcement, and 470,000 people in the food and agriculture sector eligible for a vaccine.

There are vaccinators at the over 400 vaccination sites who every day are providing vaccines to thousands of people, and many partners who are continually innovating to create ways for people who are living in the hardest hit areas have access to the vaccine.

For information about vaccine appointments in LA County, to sign up for a vaccination newsletter and much more, visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish).

County Reopening Protocols, COVID-19 Surveillance Interactive Dashboard, Roadmap to Recovery, Recovery Dashboard, and additional actions you can take to protect yourself, your family and your community are on the Public Health website, www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.