For Immediate Release:

November 04, 2021

Beginning today, proof of full vaccination and photo ID for indoor entry into bars, breweries, wineries, distilleries, nightclubs, and lounges for all patrons and employees goes into effect. Patrons now need to be fully vaccinated to be indoors at any of these establishments.

Next week, on November 8, the City of Los Angeles’ vaccine verification program, called SafePassLA, goes into effect, and will require proof of full vaccination for entry into the indoor portions of restaurants, bars, coffee shops, breweries, wineries, gyms, spas, nail salons, barbershops, movie theaters, shopping malls, and entertainment and recreation venues. This includes indoor portions of City facilities such as LA City Hall, senior centers, recreation centers, and service centers.

Public Health will be working closely with the City of LA to educate businesses and residents on the requirements of the SafePassLA program throughout the upcoming month and will unveil a virtual training and certificate program for LA City businesses next week.

The Biden administration has announced a January 4 deadline for the full vaccination of workers, including non-clinical employees and contractors, at healthcare facilities funded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. These facilities may grant certain medical or religious exemptions to employees, but employees will not be able to choose a testing option as an alternative to being vaccinated. Yesterday, the administration set the same deadline for full vaccination of workers at businesses with more than 100 employees. Businesses may offer their employees an option involving routine testing and mandatory masking.

These targeted mandates are all aimed at ensuring that in health facilities, workspaces, and public spaces, where the risk of transmission is higher, everyone is fully vaccinated. With powerful and safe vaccines, this is the surest manner of quickly reducing spread and allowing for continued economic recovery.

Many parents were relieved when earlier this week, the CDC endorsed the use of the Pfizer vaccine in children aged 5 to 11 years old. There are many good reasons to vaccinate children in this age group: in addition to the fact that COVID-19 infection can lead to hospitalization, death, inflammatory syndromes, and long-term symptoms in pediatric populations, children can transmit the virus at least as efficiently as adults. In L.A. County, an estimated 900,000 children between the ages of 5 and 11 are eligible for vaccinations. Vaccination has been shown to be 91% effective in preventing infection in this age group with only mild side effects.

Children getting vaccinated need to bring with them a consent form signed by an adult responsible for the child – and that consent form can be signed by the adult at the vaccination site. At some vaccination sites, including those run by Public Health, children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. You do not need to show identification in order to get a vaccine, nor do you need to be a United States citizen to be vaccinated.

For this week, we encourage parents to call ahead of time to providers to be sure they received pediatric doses and are able to offer vaccines to children 5-11. All six of the Public Health community sites have already begun vaccinating children and parents can bring their children in without appointments.

Last week, there were 670 student cases and more than 3,100 student close contacts at schools. Among staff, we saw about 110 cases and 250 close contacts. These case numbers represent a 26% decline in student cases and a 29% decline in staff cases from the prior week. The increase in staff close contacts is in part due to several outbreaks in which the exposure location was the staff break room. This amounts to a test positivity of 0.2% among students and staff being tested, with 0.2% identified as close contacts.

These low numbers are a result of the work our school communities have done to layer on protections that keep students and staff safe, and we are grateful for their collaboration on this effort. The County hopes to see these numbers drop further as more and more children get vaccinated to protect themselves and their friends and families from COVID-19 infection.

Today, Public Health confirms 12 new deaths and 1,829 new cases of COVID-19. The higher number of cases today reflects delays in reporting of 396 positive tests from a large testing lab from between October 18 and October 29. The County is likely to see higher numbers in future days as additional backlogged tests are included in case counts. Of the 12 new deaths reported today, four people who passed away were over the age of 80, four people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, two people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, and two people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49. To date, Public Health has identified 1,498,393 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 26,695 deaths.

There are 662 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 23% of these people are in the ICU. Testing results are available for nearly 9,110,000 individuals with 15% of people testing positive. Today’s test positivity rate is 1.6%, an increase from last week’s same-day rate of 1.2%.

The County’s daily average case rate, with a 3-day lag, is now 9.8 cases per 100,000 people, an increase from last week’s 3-day-lagged case rate of 6.1 cases per 100,000. CDC’s estimation of the County’s weekly case rate is now 84 new cases per 100,000 residents, reflecting continued substantial transmission across the county.

Unvaccinated people are 7 times more likely to get infected and 27 times more likely to be hospitalized than vaccinated people.

“Our hearts are broken for everyone who has lost loved ones, friends or co-workers to this virus, and we share with you our hope for your healing and comfort,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Cooler weather has arrived, and with it, conditions that favor COVID-19 transmission as we gather inside to stay warm and for celebrations and gatherings. While vaccinations remain our most powerful tool for reducing spread of the virus, masking up indoors and in crowded outdoor spaces is still an important layer of protection for all of us. We ask that everyone continue to do their part to adhere to the masking requirements, which are likely to remain in place for the remainder of this calendar year as we work hard to reduce community transmission rates to the moderate tier, less than 50 new weekly cases per 100,000 residents; to achieve this benchmark, daily new case numbers would need to fall to about 700 cases per day.”

An important strategy for preventing a significant surge this winter is planning for safe holiday gatherings. For this Thanksgiving, which is in three weeks, it’s best if everyone who is eligible gets vaccinated. If this isn’t possible, Public Health recommends staying local until everyone in your house is fully vaccinated, and if possible, have gatherings outdoors. Keep gatherings small, and if unvaccinated or high-risk people are present, including older adults and people with weakened immune systems, wear face masks indoors when not eating or drinking, and outdoors if it’s crowded. In these situations, it’s also a good idea to keep a distance between non-household members while eating, especially if you’re eating indoors. And if possible, have guests verify a negative test before gathering.

Anyone five years and older living or working in L.A. County can get vaccinated. Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status. Appointments are not needed at all Public Health vaccination sites where first, second, and third doses are available.

Vaccine providers across Los Angeles County are also administering boosters for all three FDA-approved vaccines; Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson. People eligible for boosters include adults of any age who received their first Johnson & Johnson dose at least two months ago, and people who got the second dose of their Pfizer or Moderna vaccines at least six months ago and are 65-plus years old or are over 18 and live in long-term care settings, have underlying medical conditions, or work or live in high-risk settings.

To find a vaccination site near you, make an appointment at vaccination sites, and much more, visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and www.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.

COVID-19 Sector Protocols, Best Practices, COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard, COVID-19 Surveillance Interactive Dashboard, 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.

Please see additional information below:

	Total Cases
Laboratory Confirmed Cases	1498393
-- Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)*	1419413
-- Long Beach	65394
-- Pasadena	13586
Deaths	26695
-- Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)	25290
-- Long Beach	1042
-- Pasadena	363
Age Group (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- 0 to 4	37452
- 5 to 11	80365
- 12 to 17	90302
- 18 to 29	336070
- 30 to 49	471264
- 50 to 64	261395
- 65 to 79	104395
- over 80	37321
- Under Investigation	849
Gender (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- Female	715098
- Male	671326
- Other	751
- Under Investigation	32238
Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- American Indian/Alaska Native	2431
- Asian	67908
- Black	68366
- Hispanic/Latino	730905
- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	5234
- White	176456
- Other	120029
- Under Investigation	248084
Hospitalization (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- Hospitalized (Ever)	106009
Deaths Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- American Indian/Alaska Native	58
- Asian	3303
- Black	2229
- Hispanic/Latino	13425
- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	91
- White	5958
- Other	193
- Under Investigation	33
CITY / COMMUNITY**	Cases	Case Rate
City of Agoura Hills	1482	7097
City of Alhambra	8303	9574
City of Arcadia	3428	5936
City of Artesia	2456	14623
City of Avalon	32	827
City of Azusa	7515	15018
City of Baldwin Park	14756	19221
City of Bell	7615	20959
City of Bell Gardens	9130	21198
City of Bellflower	13121	16879
City of Beverly Hills	3668	10626
City of Bradbury	42	3929
City of Burbank	11397	10634
City of Calabasas	1813	7454
City of Carson	12229	13031
City of Cerritos	3826	7642
City of Claremont	2897	7940
City of Commerce*	2715	20774
City of Compton	19786	19805
City of Covina	7798	15904
City of Cudahy	5414	22237
City of Culver City	2980	7475
City of Diamond Bar	4073	7082
City of Downey	20684	18102
City of Duarte	2796	12700
City of El Monte	19236	16403
City of El Segundo	1098	6541
City of Gardena	7943	12955
City of Glendale	25144	12177
City of Glendora	6051	11468
City of Hawaiian Gardens	2596	17689
City of Hawthorne	12750	14360
City of Hermosa Beach	1599	8129
City of Hidden Hills	136	7196
City of Huntington Park	12481	20982
City of Industry	194	44394
City of Inglewood	16919	14896
City of Irwindale	307	21042
City of La Canada Flintridge	1123	5427
City of La Habra Heights	131	2401
City of La Mirada	5457	11002
City of La Puente	7560	18576
City of La Verne	3610	10847
City of Lakewood	9514	11839
City of Lancaster*	29052	17981
City of Lawndale	4328	12876
City of Lomita	1975	9528
City of Lynwood*	15092	20947
City of Malibu	689	5316
City of Manhattan Beach	2127	5908
City of Maywood	5812	20721
City of Monrovia	4065	10477
City of Montebello	11637	18077
City of Monterey Park	5659	9089
City of Norwalk	18707	17382
City of Palmdale	30251	19030
City of Palos Verdes Estates	685	5066
City of Paramount	11477	20486
City of Pico Rivera	12685	19733
City of Pomona	29657	19019
City of Rancho Palos Verdes	2168	5072
City of Redondo Beach	4215	6136
City of Rolling Hills	87	4485
City of Rolling Hills Estates	443	5460
City of Rosemead	5645	10199
City of San Dimas*	4038	11699
City of San Fernando	6047	24569
City of San Gabriel	3729	9105
City of San Marino	477	3593
City of Santa Clarita	27743	12586
City of Santa Fe Springs	3409	18563
City of Santa Monica	6828	7386
City of Sierra Madre	662	6024
City of Signal Hill	1481	12554
City of South El Monte	3870	18530
City of South Gate	21339	21740
City of South Pasadena	1740	6679
City of Temple City	2803	7689
City of Torrance	9894	6628
City of Vernon	141	67464
City of Walnut	2165	7091
City of West Covina	15424	14250
City of West Hollywood	3683	9967
City of Westlake Village	154	1842
City of Whittier	13288	15198
Los Angeles	610202	15087
Los Angeles - Adams-Normandie	1375	16764
Los Angeles - Alsace	1871	15034
Los Angeles - Angeles National Forest	5	12500
Los Angeles - Angelino Heights	352	14069
Los Angeles - Arleta	7940	23102
Los Angeles - Atwater Village	1736	11837
Los Angeles - Baldwin Hills	3633	11672
Los Angeles - Bel Air	583	6917
Los Angeles - Beverly Crest	906	7234
Los Angeles - Beverlywood	1319	10013
Los Angeles - Boyle Heights*	19426	22359
Los Angeles - Brentwood	2185	7059
Los Angeles - Brookside	48	8262
Los Angeles - Cadillac-Corning	874	12274
Los Angeles - Canoga Park	11064	16946
Los Angeles - Carthay	1315	9155
Los Angeles - Central	8439	21643
Los Angeles - Century City	879	6871
Los Angeles - Century Palms/Cove	7320	21679
Los Angeles - Chatsworth	4700	12682
Los Angeles - Cheviot Hills	664	7240
Los Angeles - Chinatown	952	11869
Los Angeles - Cloverdale/Cochran	1957	13447
Los Angeles - Country Club Park	1861	12281
Los Angeles - Crenshaw District	1872	13537
Los Angeles - Crestview	1336	11752
Los Angeles - Del Rey	2718	9079
Los Angeles - Downtown*	5438	19770
Los Angeles - Eagle Rock	4445	11228
Los Angeles - East Hollywood	3832	13084
Los Angeles - Echo Park	1694	11883
Los Angeles - El Sereno	7176	17164
Los Angeles - Elysian Park	662	11590
Los Angeles - Elysian Valley	1499	14738
Los Angeles - Encino	4653	10301
Los Angeles - Exposition	450	13530
Los Angeles - Exposition Park	7315	16286
Los Angeles - Faircrest Heights	376	10444
Los Angeles - Figueroa Park Square	1623	18610
Los Angeles - Florence-Firestone	10606	22354
Los Angeles - Glassell Park	4096	12960
Los Angeles - Gramercy Place	1741	16174
Los Angeles - Granada Hills	8223	14131
Los Angeles - Green Meadows	4569	21246
Los Angeles - Hancock Park	1450	8510
Los Angeles - Harbor City	3254	11194
Los Angeles - Harbor Gateway	6004	13771
Los Angeles - Harbor Pines	226	9381
Los Angeles - Harvard Heights	2893	16041
Los Angeles - Harvard Park	8383	22098
Los Angeles - Highland Park	6743	13934
Los Angeles - Historic Filipinotown	2363	17037
Los Angeles - Hollywood	7777	11394
Los Angeles - Hollywood Hills	2373	8062
Los Angeles - Hyde Park	4716	16524
Los Angeles - Jefferson Park	1362	16871
Los Angeles - Koreatown	6401	12383
Los Angeles - Lafayette Square	635	13928
Los Angeles - Lake Balboa	6600	15638
Los Angeles - Lakeview Terrace	2675	20369
Los Angeles - Leimert Park	2089	13712
Los Angeles - Lincoln Heights	5835	17900
Los Angeles - Little Armenia	1344	16748
Los Angeles - Little Bangladesh	3261	11505
Los Angeles - Little Tokyo	496	15831
Los Angeles - Longwood	686	15939
Los Angeles - Los Feliz	1554	7192
Los Angeles - Manchester Square	1266	14831
Los Angeles - Mandeville Canyon	204	6530
Los Angeles - Mar Vista	2950	6946
Los Angeles - Marina Peninsula	247	5665
Los Angeles - Melrose	10202	13131
Los Angeles - Mid-city	1531	10186
Los Angeles - Miracle Mile	1460	8118
Los Angeles - Mission Hills	5117	21211
Los Angeles - Mt. Washington	3318	13742
Los Angeles - North Hills	10890	17686
Los Angeles - North Hollywood	25360	16748
Los Angeles - Northridge	9440	13525
Los Angeles - Pacific Palisades	1190	5589
Los Angeles - Pacoima	19373	25167
Los Angeles - Palisades Highlands	212	5512
Los Angeles - Palms	3498	7972
Los Angeles - Panorama City	15338	20383
Los Angeles - Park La Brea	917	6753
Los Angeles - Pico-Union	7887	18849
Los Angeles - Playa Del Rey	#####