COVID Surge Continues, Updated Health Officer Order

By LILY TINOCO | Reporter

Los Angeles County continues to see high rates of transmission of COVID-19, confirming more than 2 million cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, according to Public Health. The surge of infections continues to inundate hospitals, as the number of COVID-positive patients in LA County hospitals topped 3,400 on Monday January 10—the highest level since February 11, 2021.

Public Health reports that 14% of COVID-positive hospitalized patients are in the ICU, 7% are on a ventilator and 23% of ICU beds are currently being occupied by COVID-positive cases.

Amid the surge, Public Health recently updated the Health Officer Order and definitions for mega events, effective January 15.

Employers are required to provide their employees—who work indoors and in close contact with the public—with a well-fitting medical grade mask, surgical mask or higher-level respirator, and employees are required to wear them while indoors at the worksite or facility, beginning no later than January 17.

Starting January 15, attendance thresholds will also be lowered to 500 attendees for indoor mega events and 5,000 attendees for outdoor mega events, in accordance with the State Public Health Officer Order.

“Because high community transmission has the inevitable impact of increasing demand for health care services, the best way to protect health care personnel … is to double-down on reducing transmission … There are many effective strategies available for reducing transmission risks over the next few weeks,” Director of Public Health Dr. Barbara Ferrer said in a statement. “At the top of the list is avoiding hazardous activities where people are unmasked and in close contact with others. Gatherings should also be postponed for a few weeks, especially if there are participants who are not fully vaccinated, and everyone cannot test before getting together.

“Lastly, upgrading masks to those that provide a better barrier against virus particles is a commonsense step that increases our own protection along with those around us.”

As of Thursday, January 6, over 16.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered to people across LA County. To date, 88.3% of Pacific Palisades and 89% of Palisades Highlands residents have gotten at least one shot, according to data from Public Health.

Angelenos are eligible to get vaccinated at county-run vaccination sites, LA City sites, and St. John’s Well Child and Family Center sites. To find a vaccination site or make an appointment, visit vaccinateLAcounty.com.

As the Palisadian-Post went to print Tuesday, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 had reached 2,046,208 across the county when factoring in Long Beach and Pasadena, with 27,812 deaths.

Pacific Palisades had reached 2,211 confirmed cases and 15 deaths Tuesday, with an additional 395 in Palisades Highlands and one death.