Coronavirus infections among LA County healthcare workers declining

LOS ANGELES — Southland hospitals continued seeing drops successful the fig of COVID-positive patients connected Tuesday, Sept. 7, portion infections among wellness attraction workers successful Los Angeles County person besides been trending downward aft 2 months of increases implicit the summer.

According to authorities figures, determination were 1,433 patients successful COVID-19 successful region hospitals arsenic of Tuesday, a driblet of 30 from a time earlier. There were 415 radical being treated successful intensive care, up somewhat from 412 connected Monday.

The region Department of Public Health reported different 9 fatalities owed to COVID connected Tuesday, raising the cumulative decease toll from passim the pandemic to 25,465.

Another 1,060 cases were confirmed, for a pandemic full of 1,421,616.

The numbers of caller deaths and infections are apt debased owed emblematic reporting delays from the play and Labor Day.

County wellness officials besides reported that infections among wellness attraction workers — which roseate successful June and July — person been connected the diminution implicit the past fewer weeks. According to the county, determination were 534 caller COVID cases among wellness attraction workers during the week that ended Aug. 7. But during the week that ended Thursday, conscionable 291 wellness attraction idiosyncratic cases were reported —178 of them among afloat vaccinated workers.

All health-care workers successful the authorities indispensable beryllium afloat vaccinated against COVID-19 by Sept. 30.

According to the county, 44,441 wellness attraction workers and archetypal responders person tested affirmative for COVID during the pandemic, and 284 person died. Most of those deaths occurred betwixt July 2020 and February 2021, according to the Department of Public Health.

“Reflecting the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines, deaths among healthcare workers are low,” region Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said successful a statement. “As we person implemented layers of protection, including cosmopolitan masking indoors, and proceed to summation wide vaccination coverage, we are seeing declines successful L.A. County metrics.

“Of the astir 10.3 cardinal L.A. County residents, including those who are not yet eligible for the vaccine, 56% are afloat vaccinated. When we support expanding vaccination coverage, portion masking up and applying different layers of protection, we interruption the concatenation of transmission and support the astir susceptible and the 1.3 cardinal children not yet eligible for vaccine.”

Last week, wellness officials confirmed the beingness of what’s known arsenic the Mu variant of the virus, which is described arsenic highly contagious and perchance capable to evade vaccines. According to the wellness department, 167 instances of the Mu variant person been detected successful the county, each betwixt June 19 and Aug. 21, with astir of them recovered successful July.

The Mu variant — officially labeled a “variant of interest” by the World Health Organization — was archetypal discovered successful Colombia successful January, and has since been detected successful 39 countries.

Some archetypal reviews of the variant person indicated it has the imaginable to evade presently disposable vaccines. But successful a connection Friday, region wellness officials said “more studies are needed to find whether Mu variant is much contagious, much deadly oregon much resistant to vaccine and treatments than different COVID-19 strains.”

The Delta variant remains the ascendant COVID-19 strain circulating successful the county, with Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer saying Thursday it represents astir each of the cases that acquisition the sequencing needed to place circumstantial viral mutations. Delta is labeled a “variant of concern” by the WHO.

Ferrer noted Thursday that the region has begun to spot decreases successful the complaint of caller infections. According to Ferrer, the county’s cumulative seven-day complaint of caller cases was 159 per 100,000 residents past week, a 16% driblet from the erstwhile week and down 22% from the highest of 204 per 100,000 residents successful mid-August.

The county’s rolling seven-day mean regular complaint of radical investigating affirmative for the microorganism fell Tuesday to 2.7%, down from 3.3% connected Friday.