With Gradual Increase of BA.2 Subvariant in LA County, Layering of Safety Protections Critical for Residents and Workers at Elevated Risk - 565 New Positive Cases Reported on Sunday, 370 New Positive Cases Reported Today, and 29 New Deaths Due to COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

As multiple COVID metrics continue to decline, the state is lifting the requirements for vaccine and test verification at indoor mega events starting April 1. LA County will align with the state and post an updated Health Officer Order later this week. While we’re encouraged with the progress made, as the BA.2 subvariant gradually increases in LA County, layering in safety measures remains important for protecting residents and workers at elevated risk of severe illness.

For the latest measurement period, the week ending February 26th, 6.4% of all sequenced specimens in LA County were identified as the BA.2 subvariant, an increase from the week prior when 4.5% of specimens were identified as BA.2.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the BA.2 subvariant now accounts for 23% of all sequenced specimens nationally, with the Northeast region seeing higher percentages than other regions. For example, New York City reported that the Omicron subvariant BA.2 accounts for nearly 30% of cases. The BA.2 subvariant also accounts for over 20% of the cases in the Midwest, with 20% identified as BA.2 in Chicago.

Although LA County has identified a lower percentage of cases to date associated with BA.2 when compared to some other cities, this is a similar pattern as seen with previous new virus strains and residents should be prepared to mitigate the risk of increased transmission associated with this more infectious subvariant.

Efforts to slow transmission remain a priority, particularly by increasing vaccination and booster coverage, as data has shown that these approved vaccines provide significant protection against variants.

As of March 17, 83% of LA County residents ages five and older had received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine and 75% were fully vaccinated. Additionally, 57% of eligible residents ages 12 and older received the additional protection of a booster. This leaves about 2.6 million booster-dose eligible residents not benefiting from the extra protection of a booster dose.

With gaps in coverage by race/ethnicity, age groups, and geography, there are many pockets of vulnerability across the county. Only 30% of children ages 5-11 are fully vaccinated, the lowest of any age group, compared with 85% fully vaccinated youth ages 12-17.

As of March 13, 55% of Black residents and 59% of Latinx residents are fully vaccinated, compared with 73% of White residents and 82% of Asian residents.

There are also certain geographic regions with lower vaccination coverage than others, including parts of the San Gabriel Valley, South Central LA, and the Antelope Valley. As of February 27, there were also significant gaps in booster coverage with only 31% of residents five and older living in low-resourced communities receiving a booster dose, compared with 43% of residents five and older living in better resourced communities.

“As always, we extend our deepest sympathies to everyone mourning the loss of a loved one from COVID,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “The increasing presence of the highly transmissible BA.2 subvariant in many regions of this country reminds us that we need to remain vigilant and prepared for the possibility of more cases in the near future. And while discouraging to face this possibility, the best way to blunt another surge in cases from increasing hospitalizations and deaths is to increase vaccination and booster coverage. Given the compelling evidence that the vaccines continue to protect against all variants, and their wide availability, residents and workers are urged to use the next couple of weeks to get to up to date on their vaccines. Waiting until we start seeing increases in cases is not optimal, since once there are more people testing positive, there is already more community transmission.”

Public Health reported 565 new positive cases on Sunday, with an additional 370 positive cases today, and 29 new deaths for Sunday and today. Today’s case and death numbers reflect delays in weekend reporting. Of the 29 new deaths reported today, one person was between the ages of 30-49, six were between the ages of 50-64, six were between the ages of 65-79, and 16 were aged 80 years or older. Of the 29 newly reported deaths, 27 had underlying health conditions. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 31,491.

Public Health has reported a total of 2,825,423 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Note that 1,157 additional cases have been added to the cumulative total of positive cases due to a backlog of cases from the surge. Almost all of the backlog cases these past two weeks have been reported from two labs. The California Department of Public Health is aware of these reporting delays which affect case counts across many parts of the state. Today’s positivity rate is 0.6%.

There are 404 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 11,615,300 individuals, with 22% of people testing positive.

A wide range of data and dashboards on COVID-19 from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health are available on the Public Health website at http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov including:

COVID-19 Daily Data (cases, deaths, testing, testing positivity rate, mortality rate, and hospitalizations)
Gender, Age, Race/Ethnicity and City/Community Cases and Deaths
Recovery Metrics
Contact Tracing Metrics
Skilled Nursing Facility Metrics
Citations due to Health Officer Order Noncompliance
Outbreaks:

Residential Congregate Settings
Non-Residential Settings
Homeless Service Settings

Always check with trusted sources for the latest accurate information about novel coronavirus:

Los Angeles County Department of Public Health:
http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/
California Department of Public Health:
https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/Immunization/nCOV2019.aspx
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
Spanish https://espanol.cdc.gov/enes/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
World Health Organization https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus
LA County residents can also call 2-1-1

For more information:

Cases through 12:00pm 3/20/2022
	Total Cases
Laboratory Confirmed Cases	2,825,423
-- Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)*	2,672,225
-- Long Beach	125,228
-- Pasadena	27,970
Deaths	31,491
-- Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)	29,827
-- Long Beach	1,256
-- Pasadena	408
Age Group (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- 0 to 4	82147
- 5 to 11	237969
- 12 to 17	232388
- 18 to 29	594659
- 30 to 49	851840
- 50 to 64	442539
- 65 to 79	171804
- over 80	55955
- Under Investigation	2924
Gender (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- Female	1358710
- Male	1238649
- Other	1006
- Under Investigation	73860
Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- American Indian/Alaska Native	4911
- Asian	162928
- Black	133852
- Hispanic/Latino	1223216
- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	13581
- White	341969
- Other	296879
- Under Investigation	494889
Hospitalization (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- Hospitalized (Ever)	135,665	**DATA Under reported
Deaths Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- American Indian/Alaska Native	73
- Asian	3729
- Black	2752
- Hispanic/Latino	15374
- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	110
- White	7385
- Other	309
- Under Investigation	95
CITY / COMMUNITY**	Cases	Case Rate
City of Agoura Hills	4118	19719
City of Alhambra	16722	19282
City of Arcadia	7933	13736
City of Artesia	4140	24650
City of Avalon	62	1602
City of Azusa	13662	27302
City of Baldwin Park	22775	29667
City of Bell	13796	37972
City of Bell Gardens	14105	32748
City of Bellflower	23196	29840
City of Beverly Hills	8219	23809
City of Bradbury	65	6080
City of Burbank	22039	20563
City of Calabasas	3913	16088
City of Carson	25302	26961
City of Cerritos	8308	16594
City of Claremont	6477	17753
City of Commerce*	4499	34425
City of Compton	32972	33004
City of Covina	14600	29776
City of Cudahy	9964	40925
City of Culver City	7283	18269
City of Diamond Bar	9071	15772
City of Downey	35694	31238
City of Duarte	5137	23333
City of El Monte	32816	27984
City of El Segundo	2750	16383
City of Gardena	16122	26296
City of Glendale	44034	21325
City of Glendora	11694	22163
City of Hawaiian Gardens	4160	28346
City of Hawthorne	22419	25250
City of Hermosa Beach	3258	16563
City of Hidden Hills	257	13598
City of Huntington Park	21921	36852
City of Industry	396	90618
City of Inglewood	29147	25662
City of Irwindale	535	36669
City of La Canada Flintridge	2822	13637
City of La Habra Heights	162	2970
City of La Mirada	10358	20883
City of La Puente	12631	31037
City of La Verne	7019	21089
City of Lakewood	18819	23418
City of Lancaster*	50521	31269
City of Lawndale	8035	23904
City of Lomita	4247	20488
City of Lynwood*	24678	34253
City of Malibu	2060	15894
City of Manhattan Beach	4867	13520
City of Maywood	10525	37524
City of Monrovia	8190	21108
City of Montebello	19121	29703
City of Monterey Park	11375	18270
City of Norwalk	33065	30723
City of Palmdale	52727	33168
City of Palos Verdes Estates	1488	11004
City of Paramount	18854	33654
City of Pico Rivera	20864	32456
City of Pomona	51723	33170
City of Rancho Palos Verdes	4807	11245
City of Redondo Beach	9843	14328
City of Rolling Hills	187	9639
City of Rolling Hills Estates	977	12042
City of Rosemead	10701	19333
City of San Dimas*	7996	23166
City of San Fernando	10381	42179
City of San Gabriel	7511	18340
City of San Marino	1400	10545
City of Santa Clarita	53576	24306
City of Santa Fe Springs	6313	34377
City of Santa Monica	16740	18108
City of Sierra Madre	1505	13696
City of Signal Hill	2821	23913
City of South El Monte	6542	31324
City of South Gate	38197	38915
City of South Pasadena	3949	15158
City of Temple City	6130	16815
City of Torrance	22497	15072
City of Vernon	308	147368
City of Walnut	4824	15800
City of West Covina	29070	26858
City of West Hollywood	7841	21220
City of Westlake Village	270	3230
City of Whittier	23565	26952
Los Angeles	1162921	28752
Los Angeles - Adams-Normandie	2589	31565
Los Angeles - Alsace	3519	28276
Los Angeles - Angeles National Forest	6	15000
Los Angeles - Angelino Heights	621	24820
Los Angeles - Arleta	13576	39500
Los Angeles - Atwater Village	3497	23844
Los Angeles - Baldwin Hills	7397	23765
Los Angeles - Bel Air	1450	17203
Los Angeles - Beverly Crest	2319	18515
Los Angeles - Beverlywood	2979	22614
Los Angeles - Boyle Heights*	33131	38132
Los Angeles - Brentwood	5414	17490
Los Angeles - Brookside	93	16007
Los Angeles - Cadillac-Corning	1808	25390
Los Angeles - Canoga Park	19976	30596
Los Angeles - Carthay	2856	19884
Los Angeles - Central	14815	37995
Los Angeles - Century City	2289	17894
Los Angeles - Century Palms/Cove	13441	39806
Los Angeles - Chatsworth	9231	24908
Los Angeles - Cheviot Hills	1602	17468
Los Angeles - Chinatown	1960	24436
Los Angeles - Cloverdale/Cochran	4009	27548
Los Angeles - Country Club Park	3610	23824
Los Angeles - Crenshaw District	3935	28455
Los Angeles - Crestview	2824	24842
Los Angeles - Del Rey	5894	19689
Los Angeles - Downtown*	11614	42222
Los Angeles - Eagle Rock	8956	22622
Los Angeles - East Hollywood	7254	24769
Los Angeles - Echo Park	3291	23085
Los Angeles - El Sereno	13179	31523
Los Angeles - Elysian Park	1352	23669
Los Angeles - Elysian Valley	2701	26556
Los Angeles - Encino	10165	22503
Los Angeles - Exposition	966	29044
Los Angeles - Exposition Park	14248	31721
Los Angeles - Faircrest Heights	878	24389
Los Angeles - Figueroa Park Square	3011	34526
Los Angeles - Florence-Firestone	19387	40862
Los Angeles - Glassell Park	7931	25095
Los Angeles - Gramercy Place	3172	29469
Los Angeles - Granada Hills	15865	27264
Los Angeles - Green Meadows	8487	39465
Los Angeles - Hancock Park	3301	19373
Los Angeles - Harbor City	6937	23863
Los Angeles - Harbor Gateway	12067	27677
Los Angeles - Harbor Pines	453	18804
Los Angeles - Harvard Heights	5122	28400
Los Angeles - Harvard Park	14882	39230
Los Angeles - Highland Park	12827	26507
Los Angeles - Historic Filipinotown	4236	30541
Los Angeles - Hollywood	15790	23134
Los Angeles - Hollywood Hills	5131	17432
Los Angeles - Hyde Park	9166	32115
Los Angeles - Jefferson Park	2470	30596
Los Angeles - Koreatown	12851	24860
Los Angeles - Lafayette Square	1231	27002
Los Angeles - Lake Balboa	12130	28740
Los Angeles - Lakeview Terrace	4566	34767
Los Angeles - Leimert Park	4212	27647
Los Angeles - Lincoln Heights	10004	30690
Los Angeles - Little Armenia	2401	29919
Los Angeles - Little Bangladesh	6770	23886
Los Angeles - Little Tokyo	1076	34344
Los Angeles - Longwood	1314	30530
Los Angeles - Los Feliz	3701	17128
Los Angeles - Manchester Square	2371	27776
Los Angeles - Mandeville Canyon	495	15845
Los Angeles - Mar Vista	7129	16786
Los Angeles - Marina Peninsula	641	14702
Los Angeles - Melrose	19827	25519
Los Angeles - Mid-city	3371	22428
Los Angeles - Miracle Mile	3345	18599
Los Angeles - Mission Hills	9347	38746
Los Angeles - Mt. Washington	6295	26072
Los Angeles - North Hills	19880	32286
Los Angeles - North Hollywood	45785	30237
Los Angeles - Northridge	18894	27070
Los Angeles - Pacific Palisades	3218	15114
Los Angeles - Pacoima	31931	41480
Los Angeles - Palisades Highlands	598	15549
Los Angeles - Palms	7783	17738
Los Angeles - Panorama City	26917	35770
Los Angeles - Park La Brea	2205	16237
Los Angeles - Pico-Union	13774	32919
Los Angeles - Playa Del Rey	400	12516
Los Angeles - Playa Vista	2200	20097
Los Angeles - Porter Ranch	7097	19942
Los Angeles - Rancho Park	1378	21006
Los Angeles - Regent Square	633	22770
Los Angeles - Reseda	24448	31909
Los Angeles - Reseda Ranch	1397	30134
Los Angeles - Reynier Village	848	20057
Los Angeles - Sa #####