L A County Records 11 Additional Deaths And 1827 New Cases Of COVID19 Before Reimposition Of Mask Directive

Local health officials have declared that Los Angeles County has recorded 11 additional deaths and 1827 new cases of COVID19 this week. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has said that there have been around 462 new hospitalizations as well due to the disease this week before authorities have reimposed the mask mandate. The rise in the number of deaths due to the virus has brought L. A. County to a total of 24579 deaths due to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The COVID19 pandemic has resulted in nearly 1266227 confirmed cases. Around 7170000 people have been provided with the test results. Experts have said that around 16 percent of people have tested positive for COVID19. The rate of test positivity remains 3.7 percent in Los Angeles County. Two people who have lost their lives due to COVID19 this week have been 80 years old, said the experts. Five people who have died have been in the age group of 50 to 64 years. Two dead people have been in the age range of 65 to 79 years. One person who has died has been in the age group of 30 to 49 years and another dead person has been in the age group of 18 to 29 years. Many experts have said that the number of deaths and cases that have been reported recently might show some delays in weekend reporting. The officials from the L. A. County Department of Public Health have said that the rapid surge in the spread of the virus and cases in L. A. County is quite concerning.

Health experts have said that the number of COVID cases has shot up by a factor of eight since the County has reopened on June 15, 2021. The cases of COVID19 have increased fourfold since July 4, 2021. Health authorities have claimed that the increase in COVID19 cases has occurred due to unmasked people have been interacting where vaccination status is uncertain and one of the highly contagious strains of the virus known as the Delta Variant has been spreading continuously. As per the latest data, more than five million people living in L. A. County have been fully immunized against the virus at present. However, around 4 million people are yet to be vaccinated including kids who are below 12 years of age. Health authorities in the County have decided to reinforce the mask mandate in the region. The officials have said that everyone needs to wear facemasks in all indoor public places. The mandate will apply to all residents of L. A. County irrespective of their vaccination status, said the experts. Children who are below two years of age, people who are dealing with certain medical issues or disabilities that avoid masking, and those who are in jobs that do not allow masking will be exempted from the mask mandate. Experts have said that the intensified spread of the virus has led to a major increase in severe disease and hospitalizations that need immediate medical attention. Barbara Ferrer, who is Public Health director, has said that though vaccination is the most powerful tool to end the pandemic, the US is nowhere near achieving herd immunity.

Dr. Barbara Ferrer has said that people should help health authorities to slow down the spread of the virus by wearing their masks indoors as well. She has advised people saying that people, who are eligible for vaccination and have not received it yet, should seriously consider getting the shots as soon as possible. Dr. Ferrer has said that full recovery from the pandemic seems to be in jeopardy unless more and more people are immunized. Dr. Muntu Davis, who is Los Angeles Public Health Officer, has said that if the situation does not come under control soon and continues to get worse, the officials from the County will consider re-executing other restrictions such as capacity limits and social distancing as well. Alex Villanueva, the County Sheriff has said that Los Angeles County still falls under a category showing the substantial spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the health authorities are not going to reinforce the mask mandate. He has said that the decision to force vaccinated people and people who have been infected with the virus in the past to wear masks indoors is not backed by scientific evidence. On the other hand, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said that people need to wear masks indoors due to the rigorous spread of the Delta variant of the virus. People who are 21 years or above are eligible to get the COVID19 shots. The mask mandate in Los Angeles County will come into effect from Sunday this week. The mask mandate has been put in place as unvaccinated areas of the US have been witnessing an increase in the number of new COVID19 cases.