LA County coronavirus hospitalizations tick downward anew

The fig of coronavirus patients successful Los Angeles County hospitals dropped by 20 connected Sunday, Oct. 17, to 638, 1 time aft expanding by 20 people.

The fig of those patients successful intensive attraction ticked up from 182 to 184, according to authorities figures.

The county’s fig of COVID patients has fluctuated successful caller days aft weeks of dependable decline, rising for 3 consecutive days, past dropping for 2 consecutive days earlier Saturday’s increase.

Local wellness officials reported 898 caller cases of COVID-19 and 4 further deaths Sunday, bringing the county’s cumulative totals to 1,477,686 cases and 26,414 deaths since the pandemic began.

The fig of cases and deaths announced Sunday apt bespeak reporting delays implicit the weekend.

The highly transmissible Delta variant continues to relationship for 100% of COVID-19 strains seen among samples sequenced successful the area, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said Saturday.

Health officials are urging residents to program for a harmless Halloween. Officials reminded radical that closed spaces with mediocre aerial flow, crowded places with galore radical adjacent and adjacent interaction settings wherever radical are talking, laughing, screaming, oregon breathing heavy adjacent unneurotic are the astir unsafe environments for contracting the microorganism and should beryllium avoided astatine each costs.

“The safest activities volition beryllium those that are outside, including outdoor costume parties, pumpkin spot visits, outdoor shade tours, hayrides, and trick-or-treating — erstwhile done safely,” the section said. “Wherever possible, purpose to beryllium outside, peculiarly if you are with individuals, including children, that are not yet vaccinated; masks covering your chemoreceptor and rima should beryllium worn if successful crowds oregon adjacent interaction with others not successful your household.

More accusation for residents, businesses and lawsuit organizers to forestall the dispersed of COVID-19 during holidays tin beryllium recovered astatine http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/holidays.htm.

Meanwhile, region wellness officials are gearing up to connection much COVID-19 vaccine booster shots, with national support moving person for further doses of the Johnson & Johnson and Moderna vaccinations.

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory sheet connected Friday recommended booster doses of the J&J vaccine for adults, administered astatine slightest 2 months aft receiving the archetypal shot. The sheet connected Thursday recommended boosters of the Moderna vaccine, fixed astatine slightest six months aft a idiosyncratic received the 2nd of the two-dose regimen.

Department of Public Health officials person insisted the region is well-equipped to statesman administering booster doses erstwhile they person last national approval, though they continued to accent the request for unvaccinated radical to travel successful for their archetypal dose.

“We tin expect each COVID-19 vaccines disposable successful the state to person a booster enactment successful the adjacent future,” Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said Friday. “In the adjacent future, we expect that millions much L.A. County residents volition suffice for a booster. For those who are older, person underlying wellness conditions, oregon precocious hazard of vulnerability astatine a worksite, delight program to get your booster erstwhile you are eligible. This volition let your immune strategy to equine a much effectual effect to the virus. As we hole for colder upwind and the holidays, getting a first, 2nd oregon 3rd dose of a COVID vaccine should beryllium precise precocious connected our to bash list.”

Ferrer connected Thursday continued to lament the dilatory gait of radical getting vaccinated, saying lone astir 41,000 archetypal doses were administered crossed the region during the week that ended Sunday. She said the “the azygous happening that we request to bash arsenic a assemblage to trim our hazard of different surge is we request to alteration our numbers of unvaccinated people.”

According to Ferrer, 79% of eligible region residents aged 12 and implicit person received astatine slightest 1 dose of vaccine, and 70% are afloat vaccinated. Among the wide 10.3 cardinal population, including those ineligible for shots, 68% person received astatine slightest 1 dose, and 60% are afloat vaccinated.