As Highly Infectious Variants Increase in the County, Masking Indoors Provides Strong Protection Against COVID-19 - 5,051 New Positive Cases and 10 New Deaths Due to COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

As highly transmissible Omicron sub-lineages dominate across the county, masking is an essential safety measure that residents can use to help protect themselves and others in all indoor settings.

The BA.2 Omicron variant, excluding BA.2 sub-lineages, continues to decrease, and now accounts for only about half of the variants sequenced in the county. In contrast, the even more transmissible BA.2.12.1 sub-lineage accounts for 40% of positive sequenced specimens. Modeling estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predict that BA.2.12.1 is now the predominant variant in the U.S, accounting for 59% of sequenced specimens across the country for the week ending May 28.

During this period of significantly elevated case rates, fueled by the proliferation of new highly infectious strains of the virus that evade some of the vaccine protection against transmission, masking indoors provides strong protection against transmission of COVID-19. There is an impressive body of reputable research showing how masking reduces risk for individuals and slows viral transmission in the community.

Two recent studies highlight the effectiveness of masking. The first study looked at masking by people in California during most of 2021. They found the odds of testing positive were 56% lower for people who reported always wearing a mask in indoor public settings compared to those who reported never wearing a mask in those settings. Moreover, the odds of testing positive were 83% lower for people who reported wearing a respirator (like an N95 or KN95) compared to people who reported never wearing a mask.

The second study looked at the effects of masking in Arkansas schools. They found that school districts with universal mask requirements in Fall 2021 had 23% lower COVID-19 case rates among staff and students compared to school districts without mask requirements.

Both these studies reflected the variability in proper masking and the quality of masks used by individuals, and still demonstrated that masks protect both individuals and communities.

As a reminder, masks are required inside healthcare settings, on public transit and at indoor transit hubs, long term care settings, shelters and cooling centers, and correctional facilities. And, employees and customers must wear a mask at any workplaces or venues with required masking. Masking is also required by our LA County Health Officer Order for anyone who is still within 10 days of a COVID diagnosis or exposure when around others.

Both the LA County Health Officer Order and CalOSHA require workplaces to offer masks and respirators to workers. The masks and respirators should be the correct size for the employee, and employees should be given basic instructions on how to achieve the best fit with the mask. As a reminder, all workplaces must allow employees to protect themselves by wearing a mask, even if masking is not required.

There are certain situations in which employers are required to assure masks are being worn. This includes, at workplaces that have a government-issued mandate to mask, required masking for those within 10 days of a COVID diagnosis or exposure, and masking during workplace outbreaks.

“I send my deepest sympathies and wishes of peace and comfort to the many families who have lost a loved one from COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “With the high transmission of the BA.2.12.1, masking provides a strong defense against viral transmission. Each resident should consider not only their own personal risk, but also the risk to family members, friends, co-workers and those sharing public spaces, as they make decisions about taking precautions such as masking, gathering, getting tested, and getting vaccinated or boosted. In situations where transmission risk is higher, we know with certainty that masking allows us to protect ourselves and those around us. Masking helps protect those in our county who are more vulnerable. We help keep everyone working. And it is a fairly simple way to do our part to help prevent overburdening the healthcare system we all depend on.”

Today, Public Health reported 10 additional deaths and 5,051 new positive cases. Of the 10 new deaths reported today, one person was between the ages of 30-49, four people were between the ages of 65-79, and five were among people aged 80 years or older. Of the 10 newly reported deaths, nine people had underlying health conditions. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 32,154.

Public Health has reported a total of 2,990,651 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Today’s positivity rate is 5.0%.

There are 522 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 12,034,362 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:

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	Total Cases
Laboratory Confirmed Cases	2,990,651
-- Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)	2,830,332
-- Long Beach	129,952
-- Pasadena	30,367
Deaths	32,154
-- Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)	30,462
-- Long Beach	1,277
-- Pasadena	415
Age Group (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- 0 to 4	86821
- 5 to 11	251456
- 12 to 17	246475
- 18 to 29	629740
- 30 to 49	903775
- 50 to 64	467749
- 65 to 79	183069
- over 80	59157
- Under Investigation	2090
Gender (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- Female	1442785
- Male	1308811
- Other	1264
- Under Investigation	77472
Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- American Indian/Alaska Native	5204
- Asian	184098
- Black	142282
- Hispanic/Latino	1268117
- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	14377
- White	376734
- Other	314310
- Under Investigation	525210
Hospitalization (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- Hospitalized (Ever)***	139,418
Deaths Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- American Indian/Alaska Native	73
- Asian	3810
- Black	2826
- Hispanic/Latino	15630
- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	111
- White	7619
- Other	305
- Under Investigation	88
CITY / COMMUNITY**	Cases	Case Rate
City of Agoura Hills	4652	22276
City of Alhambra	18294	21095
City of Arcadia	8920	15445
City of Artesia	4398	26186
City of Avalon	64	1654
City of Azusa	14184	28345
City of Baldwin Park	23568	30700
City of Bell	14266	39266
City of Bell Gardens	14410	33456
City of Bellflower	24159	31079
City of Beverly Hills	9127	26440
City of Bradbury	67	6268
City of Burbank	24374	22741
City of Calabasas	4417	18160
City of Carson	27004	28775
City of Cerritos	9142	18260
City of Claremont	7558	20716
City of Commerce*	4639	35496
City of Compton	33800	33832
City of Covina	15236	31074
City of Cudahy	10260	42141
City of Culver City	8325	20883
City of Diamond Bar	9887	17190
City of Downey	37207	32563
City of Duarte	5443	24723
City of El Monte	33962	28961
City of El Segundo	3148	18754
City of Gardena	17157	27984
City of Glendale	46912	22718
City of Glendora	12379	23461
City of Hawaiian Gardens	4279	29156
City of Hawthorne	23549	26523
City of Hermosa Beach	3698	18800
City of Hidden Hills	301	15926
City of Huntington Park	22549	37908
City of Industry	417	95423
City of Inglewood	30552	26899
City of Irwindale	552	37834
City of La Canada Flintridge	3336	16121
City of La Habra Heights	170	3116
City of La Mirada	10988	22154
City of La Puente	13057	32083
City of La Verne	7396	22222
City of Lakewood	20157	25083
City of Lancaster*	52253	32341
City of Lawndale	8474	25210
City of Lomita	4616	22268
City of Lynwood*	25313	35134
City of Malibu	2345	18093
City of Manhattan Beach	5666	15739
City of Maywood	10803	38515
City of Monrovia	8743	22534
City of Montebello	19868	30863
City of Monterey Park	12481	20046
City of Norwalk	34163	31744
City of Palmdale	54441	34247
City of Palos Verdes Estates	1695	12535
City of Paramount	19347	34534
City of Pico Rivera	21671	33711
City of Pomona	53367	34225
City of Rancho Palos Verdes	5496	12857
City of Redondo Beach	11358	16533
City of Rolling Hills	213	10979
City of Rolling Hills Estates	1106	13632
City of Rosemead	11397	20591
City of San Dimas*	8508	24649
City of San Fernando	10766	43743
City of San Gabriel	8111	19805
City of San Marino	1656	12473
City of Santa Clarita	57259	25977
City of Santa Fe Springs	6549	35662
City of Santa Monica	19597	21198
City of Sierra Madre	1670	15197
City of Signal Hill	3021	25608
City of South El Monte	6716	32157
City of South Gate	39450	40192
City of South Pasadena	4538	17418
City of Temple City	6802	18659
City of Torrance	24951	16716
City of Vernon	318	152153
City of Walnut	5297	17349
City of West Covina	30740	28401
City of West Hollywood	8842	23929
City of Westlake Village	306	3660
City of Whittier	24704	28255
Los Angeles	1238336	30617
Los Angeles - Adams-Normandie	2693	32833
Los Angeles - Alsace	3707	29787
Los Angeles - Angeles National Forest	6	15000
Los Angeles - Angelino Heights	674	26938
Los Angeles - Arleta	14050	40879
Los Angeles - Atwater Village	3833	26135
Los Angeles - Baldwin Hills	7952	25549
Los Angeles - Bel Air	1744	20690
Los Angeles - Beverly Crest	2642	21094
Los Angeles - Beverlywood	3317	25180
Los Angeles - Boyle Heights*	34108	39257
Los Angeles - Brentwood	6446	20824
Los Angeles - Brookside	114	19621
Los Angeles - Cadillac-Corning	1952	27412
Los Angeles - Canoga Park	20960	32103
Los Angeles - Carthay	3243	22579
Los Angeles - Central	15132	38808
Los Angeles - Century City	2699	21099
Los Angeles - Century Palms/Cove	13744	40704
Los Angeles - Chatsworth	10040	27090
Los Angeles - Cheviot Hills	1925	20990
Los Angeles - Chinatown	2113	26343
Los Angeles - Cloverdale/Cochran	4258	29259
Los Angeles - Country Club Park	3868	25526
Los Angeles - Crenshaw District	4194	30328
Los Angeles - Crestview	3076	27058
Los Angeles - Del Rey	6550	21880
Los Angeles - Downtown*	12758	46381
Los Angeles - Eagle Rock	10154	25649
Los Angeles - East Hollywood	7711	26329
Los Angeles - Echo Park	3614	25351
Los Angeles - El Sereno	13867	33168
Los Angeles - Elysian Park	1463	25613
Los Angeles - Elysian Valley	2895	28463
Los Angeles - Encino	11402	25241
Los Angeles - Exposition	1023	30758
Los Angeles - Exposition Park	15063	33535
Los Angeles - Faircrest Heights	963	26750
Los Angeles - Figueroa Park Square	3115	35718
Los Angeles - Florence-Firestone	19875	41891
Los Angeles - Glassell Park	8564	27098
Los Angeles - Gramercy Place	3311	30760
Los Angeles - Granada Hills	17030	29266
Los Angeles - Green Meadows	8735	40618
Los Angeles - Hancock Park	3720	21832
Los Angeles - Harbor City	7420	25525
Los Angeles - Harbor Gateway	12691	29108
Los Angeles - Harbor Pines	477	19801
Los Angeles - Harvard Heights	5332	29565
Los Angeles - Harvard Park	15361	40493
Los Angeles - Highland Park	13751	28416
Los Angeles - Historic Filipinotown	4465	32192
Los Angeles - Hollywood	17243	25263
Los Angeles - Hollywood Hills	5903	20055
Los Angeles - Hyde Park	9602	33643
Los Angeles - Jefferson Park	2625	32516
Los Angeles - Koreatown	13569	26249
Los Angeles - Lafayette Square	1316	28866
Los Angeles - Lake Balboa	12923	30619
Los Angeles - Lakeview Terrace	4766	36290
Los Angeles - Leimert Park	4506	29577
Los Angeles - Lincoln Heights	10529	32301
Los Angeles - Little Armenia	2523	31439
Los Angeles - Little Bangladesh	7189	25364
Los Angeles - Little Tokyo	1154	36834
Los Angeles - Longwood	1403	32598
Los Angeles - Los Feliz	4344	20104
Los Angeles - Manchester Square	2517	29487
Los Angeles - Mandeville Canyon	600	19206
Los Angeles - Mar Vista	8172	19241
Los Angeles - Marina Peninsula	758	17385
Los Angeles - Melrose	21388	27528
Los Angeles - Mid-city	3704	24644
Los Angeles - Miracle Mile	3819	21234
Los Angeles - Mission Hills	9782	40549
Los Angeles - Mt. Washington	6703	27761
Los Angeles - North Hills	20801	33782
Los Angeles - North Hollywood	48421	31978
Los Angeles - Northridge	20291	29071
Los Angeles - Pacific Palisades	3889	18266
Los Angeles - Pacoima	32906	42747
Los Angeles - Palisades Highlands	734	19085
Los Angeles - Palms	8952	20402
Los Angeles - Panorama City	27912	37092
Los Angeles - Park La Brea	2491	18343
Los Angeles - Pico-Union	14208	33956
Los Angeles - Playa Del Rey	457	14299
Los Angeles - Playa Vista	2598	23733
Los Angeles - Porter Ranch	8005	22494
Los Angeles - Rancho Park	1651	25168
Los Angeles - Regent Square	692	24892
Los Angeles - Reseda	25731	33584
Los Angeles - Reseda Ranch	1476	31838
Los Angeles - Reynier Village	940	22233
Los Angeles - San Pedro*	20758	26600
Los Angeles - Shadow Hills	1029	23165
Los Angeles - Sherman Oaks	20884	23935
Los Angeles - Silverlake	10555	23943
Los Angeles - South Carthay	2484	23445