For Immediate Release:

June 08, 2023

As many Los Angeles County residents make summer travel plans, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) encourages people to take common-sense measures while traveling to avoid contracting and spreading COVID-19, especially at this time of year, when case rates and hospitalizations typically have risen.

For the past three years, Los Angeles County has experienced a significant increase in transmission between June and August, peak summer months when increased travel, celebrations and gatherings have contributed to summer surges. Protective measures, such as handwashing, testing, and staying home when sick, are essential to dampening the spread of COVID-19.

Although data shows that COVID-19 transmission remains low in Los Angeles County, across the course of the pandemic, COVID hospitalizations, an indicator of COVID-19's impact on the community, have increased during summer months, coinciding with school breaks and summer vacations.

During the first year of the pandemic, COVID-19 hospitalizations rose 40 percent between June 1, 2020, and August 1, 2020. The next year, despite hospitalizations reaching a pandemic-low in June of 2021 at an average of 218 hospitalizations per day, Los Angeles County saw a summer surge during which hospitalizations increased by nearly 300 percent between June 1 and August 1. In 2022 the hospitalization increase was over 150 percent during the same summer months.

As of June 4, 2023, the 7-day average of COVID-19 hospitalizations in Los Angeles County was 226, one of the lowest hospitalization averages since the pandemic began.

Any COVID-19 infection brings risk, including the risk of long COVID, and the chance that the virus may be spread to someone who is more at-risk for severe illness. At the very least, summer gatherings and travel plans can be disrupted. To reduce risks during travel, Public Health urges all residents to take simple precautions, including staying home when sick, masking while using public transportation, and testing if a person is experiencing respiratory symptoms or has been exposed to COVID-19. For added protection, it is also recommended that people traveling together are up to date on COVID vaccines before departure.

In California, insurance plans, including Medicare and Medi-Cal, are required to cover the cost of testing for COVID-19 through Nov. 11, 2023. Exact coverage may vary depending on an individual's insurance plan. Residents without insurance may receive free at-home test kits or PCR tests for COVID-19 at public libraries, public health clinics, vaccination sites and community health centers or purchase tests from a pharmacy or other local retailer. Having tests on hand while traveling can help detect a COVID-19 infection as soon as possible.

COVID-19 treatments, taken within five days of symptom onset, can help reduce the chance of severe illness from COVID. Anyone traveling for an extended period of time should make a plan with their provider or insurance about how to access treatment in case of infection. For questions about treatment, testing, steps to prevent COVID-19 while traveling, or anything related to COVID-19, the Public Health Call Line remains available every day, from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., by calling 1-833-540-0473.

In addition to increased COVID-19 exposure due to travel and summertime events, an increase in cases also can be caused by mutations to the virus. Currently in Los Angeles County, the most recent sequencing data shows XBB.1.5 remains the dominant strain, accounting for 66 percent of sequenced specimens for the two-week period ending May 13, 2023, a decrease from 74 percent during the previous reporting period. The second most dominant strains were XBB.1.9.1 and XBB.1.9.2, accounting for 9 percent and 7 percent of sequenced specimens, respectively, an increase from the prior two-week period. Modeling data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that as of May 27 in California and surrounding states, XBB.1.5 remains the dominant strain accounting for 53 percent of cases while XBB.1.16 makes up 14 percent and XBB.1.9.1 accounts for about 13 percent of cases. These shifts are small, and officials do not note a cause for concern at this time.

“I would like to extend my deepest sympathies to those who have lost a loved one to COVID-19. May you find peace and comfort during this difficult time,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.Ed., Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. “Like many people, I am looking forward to the summer months and plans with family and friends. More than anything I hope that our numbers remain low and that we start to see a new pattern of COVID-19, with more predictability and fewer surges. As the virus and the circumstances of the pandemic continue to evolve, more will be known about the long-term outlook of COVID-19. For now, all residents are encouraged to use the knowledge we have gained over the past 3+ years, especially when participating in higher risk activities, such as travel. While these activities are lower risk than in past summers, they are not no-risk, especially for people who are older or immunocompromised. Incorporating simple measures, such as handwashing and testing, can help keep each other safe and make for an enjoyable summer.”

For residents who have difficulties leaving their home, Public Health offers free in-home COVID-19 vaccinations. Appointments may be made at ph.lacounty.gov/vaxathome, or ph.lacounty.gov/vacunacionencasa (en español). Homebound services and other COVID-19 resources, including vaccines, testing and treatment, are free and readily available by calling the Public Health Call Center at 1-833-540-0473 seven days a week between 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

The CDC has replaced COVID-19 Community Levels with Hospital Admission Levels, which can help individuals and communities decide which prevention actions they can take based on the most recent information. Los Angeles County is in the Low Hospital Admission Level with 3.0 weekly COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 people, reported June 1, 2023.

The 7-day average number of COVID hospitalizations is 226 this week. Reported weekly deaths increased to 46 deaths reported this week. As of Tuesday, June 6, there have been a total of 36,424 COVID deaths in Los Angeles County.

Public Health reports COVID-19 data weekly. The following table shows case, wastewater, emergency department, hospitalization, and death data in Los Angeles County over the past four weeks.

Metric	Date of Weekly Report
	6/7/2023	5/31/2023	5/24/2023	5/17/2023
Weekly cases reported1,2	1,902	1,801	2,157	2,323
SARS-CoV-2 wastewater concentration as a percentage of the Winter 2022-2023 peak concentration value3	10%	11%	9%	10%
7-day average of the percent of emergency department (ED) encounters classified as coronavirus-related3,4	2.5%	2.3%	2.7%	3.0%
7-day average number of COVID-positive hospitalizations3,4	226*	254*	190*	225*
Weekly deaths reported2	46	40	35	20
1) Case counts are an underrepresentation of the true number of infections, largely due to home tests which are not reported to DPH. Despite this, the trend in reported case counts from week to week is still an indicator of overall trends in transmission.
2) Weekly case and death counts represent the number of cases and deaths reported for the week ending each Tuesday. The date a case/death is reported by DPH is not the same as the date of testing or death.
3) Time periods covered by each metric: wastewater = week ending each Saturday, with a one-week lag; ED data = week ending each Sunday; hospitalizations = week ending each Sunday.
4) Data for past weeks is subject to change in future reports.
*Due to a reporting transition at the state level and subsequent underreporting from hospitals, this value is an undercount. Efforts are actively underway to address the underreporting.

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/COVIDdata including:

· COVID-19 Locations & Demographics (data by demographic characteristics and geography, active outbreaks, and citations) Demographics (data by demographic characteristics and geography, active outbreaks, and citations)

· COVID-19 Response Plan

· COVID-19 Vaccinations

· Skilled Nursing Facility Metrics

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

· CDC 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

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Cases through 12:00pm 6/5/2023
	Total Cases	NEW
Laboratory Confirmed Cases	3,749,879	1902
-- Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)	3,545,194	1762
-- Long Beach	164,362	102
-- Pasadena	40,323	38
Deaths	36,424	46
-- Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)	34,562	41
-- Long Beach	1,415	5
-- Pasadena	447	0
Age Group (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- 0 to 4	112,072
- 5 to 11	283,194
- 12 to 17	277,917
- 18 to 29	759,463
- 30 to 49	1,136,060
- 50 to 64	615,617
- 65 to 79	265,065
- over 80	93,255
- Under Investigation	2,551
Gender (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- Female	1,829,700
- Male	1,624,647
- Other	1,796
- Under Investigation	89,051
Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- American Indian/Alaska Native	6,720
- Asian	264,197
- Black	186,291
- Hispanic/Latino	1,514,859
- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	17,741
- White	492,381
- Other	407,367
- Under Investigation	655,638
Hospitalization (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- Hospitalized (Ever)	178,085
Deaths Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- American Indian/Alaska Native	80
- Asian	4,504
- Black	3,247
- Hispanic/Latino	16,892
- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	119
- White	9,216
- Other	414
- Under Investigation	90
CITY / COMMUNITY**	Cases	Case Rate
City of Agoura Hills	6348	30398
City of Alhambra	25526	29434
City of Arcadia	13714	23746
City of Artesia	6006	35761
City of Avalon	288	7444
City of Azusa	17527	35026
City of Baldwin Park	29720	38714
City of Bell	17042	46906
City of Bell Gardens	17148	39813
City of Bellflower	30838	39671
City of Beverly Hills	11601	33607
City of Bradbury	71	6642
City of Burbank	32888	30685
City of Calabasas	5848	24043
City of Carson	34999	37294
City of Cerritos	13379	26722
City of Claremont	10434	28599
City of Commerce*	5877	44969
City of Compton	40308	40347
City of Covina	20308	41418
City of Cudahy	12231	50236
City of Culver City	11969	30024
City of Diamond Bar	13721	23856
City of Downey	46872	41021
City of Duarte	7518	34148
City of El Monte	42797	36495
City of El Segundo	4090	24366
City of Gardena	21908	35733
City of Glendale	60413	29257
City of Glendora	15041	28506
City of Hawaiian Gardens	5012	34151
City of Hawthorne	29668	33415
City of Hermosa Beach	4740	24098
City of Hidden Hills	383	20265
City of Huntington Park	26368	44328
City of Industry	1015	232265
City of Inglewood	38798	34159
City of Irwindale	887	60795
City of La Canada Flintridge	4552	21998
City of La Habra Heights	214	3923
City of La Mirada	14254	28738
City of La Puente	15998	39310
City of La Verne	9263	27832
City of Lakewood	27114	33740
City of Lancaster*	64269	39778
City of Lawndale	10605	31549
City of Lomita	6118	29514
City of Lynwood*	31278	43413
City of Malibu	2895	22336
City of Manhattan Beach	7458	20717
City of Maywood	12851	45816
City of Monrovia	11879	30616
City of Montebello	25528	39655
City of Monterey Park	17543	28176
City of Norwalk	43094	40042
City of Palmdale	66948	42114
City of Palos Verdes Estates	2279	16854
City of Paramount	22774	40651
City of Pico Rivera	28201	43869
City of Pomona	65758	42171
City of Rancho Palos Verdes	7795	18235
City of Redondo Beach	15630	22752
City of Rolling Hills	299	15412
City of Rolling Hills Estates	1541	18994
City of Rosemead	15258	27566
City of San Dimas*	11130	32246
City of San Fernando	12793	51979
City of San Gabriel	11488	28051
City of San Marino	2410	18152
City of Santa Clarita	73647	33412
City of Santa Fe Springs	7915	43101
City of Santa Monica	26530	28698
City of Sierra Madre	2420	22022
City of Signal Hill	4114	34873
City of South El Monte	8446	40441
City of South Gate	47234	48122
City of South Pasadena	6348	24366
City of Temple City	10778	29565
City of Torrance	34433	23068
City of Vernon	357	170813
City of Walnut	7593	24869
City of West Covina	39643	36627
City of West Hollywood	11324	30646
City of Westlake Village	453	5419
City of Whittier	31437	35956
Los Angeles	1531147	37857
Los Angeles - Adams-Normandie	3215	39198
Los Angeles - Alsace	4528	36384
Los Angeles - Angeles National Forest	0	0
Los Angeles - Angelino Heights	849	33933
Los Angeles - Arleta	16942	49293
Los Angeles - Atwater Village	5096	34747
Los Angeles - Baldwin Hills	10265	32980
Los Angeles - Bel Air	2458	29161
Los Angeles - Beverly Crest	3349	26739
Los Angeles - Beverlywood	4225	32073
Los Angeles - Boyle Heights*	40548	46669
Los Angeles - Brentwood	8444	27278
Los Angeles - Brookside	157	27022
Los Angeles - Cadillac-Corning	2305	32369
Los Angeles - Canoga Park	25383	38878
Los Angeles - Carthay	4430	30843
Los Angeles - Central	17068	43773
Los Angeles - Century City	3770	29472
Los Angeles - Century Palms/Cove	16328	48356
Los Angeles - Chatsworth	12995	35064
Los Angeles - Cheviot Hills	2565	27969
Los Angeles - Chinatown	2947	36741
Los Angeles - Cloverdale/Cochran	5337	36673
Los Angeles - Country Club Park	4923	32489
Los Angeles - Crenshaw District	5348	38672
Los Angeles - Crestview	3976	34975
Los Angeles - Del Rey	8459	28257
Los Angeles - Downtown*	16251	59080
Los Angeles - Eagle Rock	13866	35025
Los Angeles - East Hollywood	9572	32683
Los Angeles - Echo Park	4517	31685
Los Angeles - El Sereno	16970	40590
Los Angeles - Elysian Park	1847	32335
Los Angeles - Elysian Valley	3581	35208
Los Angeles - Encino	15305	33882
Los Angeles - Exposition	1284	38605
Los Angeles - Exposition Park	18308	40760
Los Angeles - Faircrest Heights	1271	35306
Los Angeles - Figueroa Park Square	3807	43653
Los Angeles - Florence-Firestone	22915	48298
Los Angeles - Glassell Park	11038	34926
Los Angeles - Gramercy Place	4181	38842
Los Angeles - Granada Hills	21614	37143
Los Angeles - Green Meadows	10097	46952
Los Angeles - Hancock Park	4763	27954
Los Angeles - Harbor City	9448	32501
Los Angeles - Harbor Gateway	15748	36119
Los Angeles - Harbor Pines	650	26982
Los Angeles - Harvard Heights	6168	34200
Los Angeles - Harvard Park	18075	47647
Los Angeles - Highland Park	17286	35722
Los Angeles - Historic Filipinotown	5522	39813
Los Angeles - Hollywood	21758	31878
Los Angeles - Hollywood Hills	7713	26204
Los Angeles - Hyde Park	11993	42020
Los Angeles - Jefferson Park	3155	39081
Los Angeles - Koreatown	16262	31459
Los Angeles - Lafayette Square