Los Angeles County has once more entered the excessive COVID-19 neighborhood stage, additional indication that the persevering with spike in instances is beginning to exert strain on the area’s hospitals.
Ought to hospitalization charges proceed to rise this month, the county may very well be on monitor for a renewed common masks order in indoor public settings. But it surely’s unsure when such a rule may be handed down — or whether or not one will materialize in any respect.
L.A. County has already met one among two standards that will set off a brand new mandate: a comparatively excessive fee of latest coronavirus-positive hospitalizations. The county is now reporting 14.8 new coronavirus-positive hospitalizations per week for each 100,000 residents; a fee of 10 or extra is taken into account notably worrisome.
The second focuses on the share of staffed hospital beds occupied by coronavirus-positive sufferers. In line with the U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention, 6.9% of L.A. County’s staffed hospital beds are being utilized by coronavirus-infected sufferers, up from 2% firstly of November. Nonetheless, that determine would should be 10% or higher for a masks mandate to be on the desk.
Public Well being Director Barbara Ferrer has estimated that L.A. County would possibly attain the second benchmark round Dec. 19, assuming present traits persist. Ought to L.A. County nonetheless be above that threshold Dec. 22 — and stay so for 2 weeks — a masks mandate can be introduced Jan. 5 and go into impact a day later.
L.A. County hasn’t been within the excessive COVID-19 neighborhood stage since summer time, the final time when it appeared a masks mandate may be imminent. Placement in that class, which is outlined by the CDC, requires a county to have an elevated stage of coronavirus transmission and meet a sure hospitalization threshold.
The county’s transfer into the excessive COVID-19 neighborhood stage Thursday was the results of its case fee exceeding 200 instances per week for each 100,000 residents.
Eight California counties entered the excessive COVID-19 neighborhood stage Thursday: Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Imperial, Kings, San Benito and Tuolumne. Almost 15 million Californians dwell in these areas, accounting for 38% of the state’s inhabitants.
When a county’s neighborhood stage is excessive, the CDC recommends residents “put on a high-quality masks or respirator,” and that these “at excessive threat of getting very sick contemplate avoiding non-essential indoor actions in public” the place they may very well be uncovered to the coronavirus.
Seventeen counties entered the medium COVID-19 neighborhood stage: San Diego, Riverside, Alameda, Contra Costa, Ventura, San Joaquin, Tulare, Solano, Napa, Sutter, Yuba, Lake, Calaveras, Lassen, Del Norte, Colusa and Inyo.
They joined 18 counties already within the medium stage: Orange, Sacramento, Fresno, Stanislaus, Monterey, Placer, Merced, Yolo, Butte, El Dorado, Madera, Nevada, Mendocino, Tehama, Siskiyou, Glenn, Mariposa and Sierra.
There are 20 million Californians who dwell within the 35 counties within the medium stage, accounting for 51% of the state’s inhabitants.
When a county’s COVID-19 neighborhood stage is medium, the CDC recommends folks at excessive threat of getting very sick to put on a masks or respirator in indoor public settings.
Two counties fell from the medium to low COVID-19 neighborhood ranges: Sonoma and Marin counties. The opposite 13 counties within the state that stay within the low stage are Kern, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Shasta, Humboldt, Amador, Plumas, Mono, Trinity, Modoc and Alpine.
