For Immediate Release:

August 24, 2023

After a relatively calm summer, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) is reporting a rise in measures of COVID-19 transmission for the fifth consecutive week. To help mitigate the spread, Public Health is working with institutions and partners to provide information about and access to vaccinations, tests, and therapeutics. Public Health continues to provide support and resources to skilled nursing facilities, where people are at higher risk for severe illness, and schools, where students and staff are indoors, in close contact with each other, for long periods of time.

The increase in COVID-19 circulation is likely the combined result of multiple factors, including summer travel, return to school, and the emergence of new COVID-19 variant strains. Compared to other points during the pandemic, hospitalizations and deaths remain relatively low. However, people more vulnerable to severe illness and death, including people who are immunocompromised, older or in skilled nursing facilities, and the people they spend time with, should consider precautions to protect against COVID infection. These protections include wearing a well-fitting high filtration mask when in poorly ventilated and/or crowded indoor spaces and on public transit, testing when symptomatic and/or after a known COVID-19 exposure, remaining home when sick, and seeking therapeutics if infected.

In Los Angeles County this week, an average of 512 daily cases was reported, a nearly 35 percent increase from the week before. Reported cases do not include home tests, so the actual number of COVID infections in the community is much higher.

Wastewater concentrations of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, provide a more complete picture of virus levels in the community. This week, wastewater concentrations are at 28 percent of the 2022-23 winter peak and have been steadily increasing since July 12, when they were at 8 percent of the peak.

Based on the most recent COVID-19 variant sequencing in Los Angeles County as of July 22, XBB.1.5 and EG.5 now account for nearly equal proportions of COVID-19 cases, combined making up 31 percent of the total sequenced cases. XBB.2.3 accounts for the next highest proportion of sequenced cases followed by XBB.1.16.1.

Ninety-eight percent of currently circulating strains in Los Angeles County are descendants of Omicron XBB, including EG.5, which is what the fall COVID-19 vaccine, likely to be released next month, will target. Los Angeles County has not detected BA.2.86 in recently sampled sequences. BA.2.86 is being closely monitored because it has many mutations that may affect how our body responds to an infection.

Currently, Los Angeles County is reporting a daily average of 422 hospitalizations, a 30 percent increase from the week prior and there has also been a consistent, small increase in the proportion of emergency department visits attributed to COVID-19 over the past month. While hospitalizations are increasing, the current levels are still far lower than what was seen in 2022 during the summer peak, when there was an average of 1,287 COVID patients hospitalized each day.

When COVID-19 transmission increases, people residing in skilled nursing facilities are especially vulnerable. This week, the number of new outbreaks opened in skilled nursing facilities rose to 39, up from 20 the week prior and 13 four weeks ago. And while resulting hospitalizations and deaths among skilled nursing facility residents are lower than at other points during the pandemic, nonetheless, increased transmission of COVID-19 at nursing homes carries heightened risk for frail elderly.

As a result of the increased outbreaks, Public Health is working closely with local skilled nursing facilities to encourage adequate cleaning, infection control, and ventilation in the facility, as well as to communicate the importance of staff and visitors staying home when sick.

Public Health currently strongly recommends masking for staff in skilled nursing facilities and requires it during outbreaks. All residents should have access to clean well-fitting masks with good filtration and these should be worn by anyone suspected positive when not in their rooms. It is also strongly recommended that all residents, staff, and visitors remain up to date with COVID vaccines. Visitors should test before going into a skilled nursing facility and should strongly consider wearing a mask while inside.

Public Health provides support at all skilled nursing facilities during outbreaks and a Paxlovid prescription is encouraged, where appropriate, for residents who test positive.

With increased COVID-19 transmission in the community, schools are another place where outbreaks are possible due to large groups of people being indoors together for extended periods of time. And while many children may not experience severe illness associated with a COVID-19 infection, other family members and school staff may be at higher risk.

Parents and guardians are encouraged to keep children home if they are sick, including when they have a fever, bad cough, extreme fatigue, or a sore throat. Those with respiratory symptoms or a known exposure should test for COVID-19; many school districts have already received test kits for free distribution to students and their families. If a child tests positive for COVID-19, it is important to report that to the school as soon as possible so that others can be informed of the exposure. Anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 needs to isolate at home for a minimum of 5 days.

Public Health is committed to working with schools to provide support during outbreaks in addition to distributing free antigen tests and tool kits with resources and information about reducing transmission.

Those infected with COVID-19 should talk to their health care provider about treatment options, such as Paxlovid, as soon as possible. Treatment must begin within five days of the onset of symptoms. To access free telehealth services for treatment, contact the Public Health Call Center, seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., at 1-833-540-0473.

Los Angeles County remains in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Low Hospital Admission Level with 5.2 weekly COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 people, reported on Aug. 21 for the seven-day period ending Aug. 12, an increase from 4.1 hospital admissions last week.

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
	8/23/2023	8/16/2023	8/9/2023	8/2/2023
Daily average cases	512	384	333	264
SARS-CoV-2 wastewater concentration as a percentage of the Winter 2022-2023 peak concentration value	28%	22%	19%	12%
Daily average of the percent of Emergency Department (ED) encounters classified as coronavirus-related	4.4%	3.9%	3.5%	3.2%
Daily average number of COVID-positive hospitalizations	422	330	295	245
Daily average deaths	1.7	1.0	1.7	0.7
Percent of all deaths due to COVID-19	1.1%	0.9%	1.3%	0.8%
All daily averages are 7-day averages. Data for past weeks are subject to change in future reports. Time periods covered by each metric: cases = week ending each Saturday; wastewater = week ending each Saturday, with a one-week lag; ED data = week ending each Sunday; hospitalizations = week ending each Saturday; deaths = week ending each Monday, with a three-week lag; death percentage = week ending Monday, with a one-week lag. Hospitalization counts do not include Prospect Hospitals, which on average make up 2% of hospitalizations in LA County. Case data is presented by episode date, an approximation of the date the illness began, and death data is presented by date of death. This is a change from how case and death data were presented prior to July 26, 2023, which was by date of report. Daily average cases and deaths do not include Long Beach and Pasadena.

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)

• 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/2019https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.htmlncov/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

Cases through 12:00pm 8/21/2023
	Total Cases
Laboratory Confirmed Cases (includes LB and Pas through 6/27/23; excludes LB and Pas after 6/27/23)	3,777,831
Deaths (includes LB and Pas)	36,618
Cases by Age Group (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- 0 to 4	113,593
- 5 to 11	283,829
- 12 to 17	278,529
- 18 to 29	763,174
- 30 to 49	1,143,624
- 50 to 64	621,546
- 65 to 79	270,017
- over 80	95,954
- Under Investigation	2,572
Cases by Gender (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- Female	1,845,342
- Male	1,636,395
- Other	1,860
- Under Investigation	89,241
Cases by Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- American Indian/Alaska Native	6,781
- Asian	266,863
- Black	188,843
- Hispanic/Latino	1,523,637
- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	17,870
- White	497,616
- Other	411,441
- Under Investigation	659,787
Hospitalization (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- Hospitalized (Ever)	182,917
Deaths by Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- American Indian/Alaska Native	79
- Asian	4,542
- Black	3,262
- Hispanic/Latino	16,939
- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	116
- White	9,270
- Other	429
- Under Investigation	92
CITY / COMMUNITY**	Cases	Case Rate
City of Agoura Hills	6417	30728
City of Alhambra	25770	29715
City of Arcadia	13882	24036
City of Artesia	6065	36112
City of Avalon	292	7547
City of Azusa	17648	35268
City of Baldwin Park	29902	38951
City of Bell	17108	47088
City of Bell Gardens	17294	40152
City of Bellflower	31071	39970
City of Beverly Hills	11696	33882
City of Bradbury	71	6642
City of Burbank	33189	30966
City of Calabasas	5920	24339
City of Carson	35344	37662
City of Cerritos	13556	27076
City of Claremont	10500	28780
City of Commerce*	5906	45191
City of Compton	40636	40675
City of Covina	20466	41740
City of Cudahy	12273	50409
City of Culver City	12133	30435
City of Diamond Bar	13831	24048
City of Downey	47204	41312
City of Duarte	7570	34384
City of El Monte	43081	36737
City of El Segundo	4147	24705
City of Gardena	22131	36097
City of Glendale	60890	29488
City of Glendora	15229	28862
City of Hawaiian Gardens	5041	34349
City of Hawthorne	29944	33726
City of Hermosa Beach	4795	24377
City of Hidden Hills	390	20635
City of Huntington Park	26501	44551
City of Industry	1021	233638
City of Inglewood	39115	34438
City of Irwindale	894	61275
City of La Canada Flintridge	4616	22307
City of La Habra Heights	215	3941
City of La Mirada	14399	29031
City of La Puente	16091	39539
City of La Verne	9335	28048
City of Lakewood	27384	34076
City of Lancaster*	64772	40089
City of Lawndale	10703	31841
City of Lomita	6180	29813
City of Lynwood*	31581	43834
City of Malibu	2919	22521
City of Manhattan Beach	7538	20939
City of Maywood	12910	46027
City of Monrovia	11986	30892
City of Montebello	25701	39924
City of Monterey Park	17694	28419
City of Norwalk	43439	40363
City of Palmdale	67392	42393
City of Palos Verdes Estates	2310	17083
City of Paramount	22929	40928
City of Pico Rivera	28330	44070
City of Pomona	66133	42412
City of Rancho Palos Verdes	7930	18551
City of Redondo Beach	15828	23040
City of Rolling Hills	303	15619
City of Rolling Hills Estates	1565	19290
City of Rosemead	15398	27819
City of San Dimas*	11212	32483
City of San Fernando	12865	52271
City of San Gabriel	11578	28271
City of San Marino	2460	18528
City of Santa Clarita	74396	33751
City of Santa Fe Springs	7963	43362
City of Santa Monica	26900	29098
City of Sierra Madre	2461	22395
City of Signal Hill	4135	35051
City of South El Monte	8491	40656
City of South Gate	47466	48358
City of South Pasadena	6411	24608
City of Temple City	10857	29782
City of Torrance	34901	23381
City of Vernon	358	171292
City of Walnut	7652	25062
City of West Covina	39933	36895
City of West Hollywood	11408	30873
City of Westlake Village	456	5455
City of Whittier	31582	36122
Los Angeles	1542307	38132
Los Angeles - Adams-Normandie	3234	39429
Los Angeles - Alsace	4574	36754
Los Angeles - Angeles National Forest	0	0
Los Angeles - Angelino Heights	851	34013
Los Angeles - Arleta	17028	49543
Los Angeles - Atwater Village	5136	35020
Los Angeles - Baldwin Hills	10364	33298
Los Angeles - Bel Air	2491	29553
Los Angeles - Beverly Crest	3383	27010
Los Angeles - Beverlywood	4263	32362
Los Angeles - Boyle Heights*	40734	46883
Los Angeles - Brentwood	8540	27588
Los Angeles - Brookside	158	27194
Los Angeles - Cadillac-Corning	2320	32580
Los Angeles - Canoga Park	25590	39195
Los Angeles - Carthay	4463	31073
Los Angeles - Central	17124	43917
Los Angeles - Century City	3809	29776
Los Angeles - Century Palms/Cove	16443	48697
Los Angeles - Chatsworth	13113	35382
Los Angeles - Cheviot Hills	2591	28252
Los Angeles - Chinatown	2971	37040
Los Angeles - Cloverdale/Cochran	5384	36996
Los Angeles - Country Club Park	4943	32621
Los Angeles - Crenshaw District	5410	39121
Los Angeles - Crestview	4011	35283
Los Angeles - Del Rey	8558	28588
Los Angeles - Downtown*	16340	59403
Los Angeles - Eagle Rock	13971	35290
Los Angeles - East Hollywood	9640	32916
Los Angeles - Echo Park	4546	31888
Los Angeles - El Sereno	17067	40822
Los Angeles - Elysian Park	1857	32511
Los Angeles - Elysian Valley	3602	35414
Los Angeles - Encino	15437	34174
Los Angeles - Exposition	1293	38876
Los Angeles - Exposition Park	18393	40949
Los Angeles - Faircrest Heights	1285	35694
Los Angeles - Figueroa Park Square	3826	43871
Los Angeles - Florence-Firestone	23023	48526
Los Angeles - Glassell Park	11110	35154
Los Angeles - Gramercy Place	4227	39270
Los Angeles - Granada Hills	21790	37446
Los Angeles - Green Meadows	10179	47333
Los Angeles - Hancock Park	4795	28141
Los Angeles - Harbor City	9523	32759
Los Angeles - Harbor Gateway	15876	36413
Los Angeles - Harbor Pines	656	27231
Los Angeles - Harvard Heights	6204	34400
Los Angeles - Harvard Park	18179	47921
Los Angeles - Highland Park	17396	35949
Los Ange #####