LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Mandatory indoor mask wearing may return to Los Angeles County in a few weeks, possibly by the end of June, in the absence of a decline in the rate of new COVID-19 cases and virus-related hospitalizations. said the county’s director of public health on Thursday.
Los Angeles County is currently included in the “average” viral activity category of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, based on the cumulative seven-day rate of new cases. But the county will move to the “high” category if the average daily percentage of new COVID-related hospitals rises above 10 per 100,000 inhabitants, or if the percentage of hospital beds staffed by COVID-positive patients exceeds 10%.
Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said the current rate of new hospital admissions in the county is 5.2 per 100,000 residents, twice as much as a month ago. The share of beds occupied by patients with the virus is still relatively low – 2.7%, but also higher than last month.
“Although these hospital rates remain well below the CDC threshold at the community level, both our weekly incidence rate and the rate of increase in hospital admissions are a cause for concern,” Ferrer said. the current trajectory … we will probably move to the “high” level of the CDC community within a few weeks, towards the end of June, which shows increased stress on the healthcare system. “
If the county reaches the “high” category, it will again require masks to be worn in all public places indoors.
Ferrer said there was no “no certainty” about the date the county could reach a “high” level.
“Actual hospitalizations may increase at a faster rate, or if the number of cases stabilizes or decreases over the next two weeks, the rate of increase in hospitalizations may be much lower,” she said. “As we look to the near future, it reminds us that we also have the ability to influence where these numbers go. We all have the power to take steps to reduce the spread of the virus, which ultimately reduces the number of people in hospital with a positive COVID-19 infection. “
She applauded the move by Alameda County in Northern California, where the indoor mask mandate will take effect again on Friday. And she pointed to several recent studies that suggest wearing masks has a noticeable effect on reducing the spread of the virus.
According to a study in California, the chances of passing a positive COVID test are 56% lower for people who report always wearing a mask in public indoors than those who have never worn one.
The chances are 83% lower for people who work with higher-end masks – such as the N95 or KN95, Ferrer said.
A second study in Arkansas found that school districts with universal masking requirements had 23% lower cases.
Los Angeles County is currently requiring indoor masks in health facilities, on board transit vehicles and in transit centers such as airports, long-term care facilities, shelters and refrigeration centers and correctional facilities.
On Thursday, the county reported 5,047 new COVID infections, raising the county’s total number of pandemics to 2,985,665. Ten new deaths were also reported, raising the number of local virus-related deaths to 32,146.
The average daily percentage of people who tested positive for the virus rose to 5.3 percent, an increase Ferrer said was likely a combination of increased community transmission and reduced overall testing due to the end of the school year.
According to state data, as of Thursday, there were 524 COVID-positive patients in district hospitals, up from 502 a day earlier. The number of these patients treated in intensive care was 59, compared to 53 days earlier.
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