The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) today expressed cautious optimism that the transmission of the COVID-19 virus in L.A. County has slowed and that other key indicators are stabilizing.
“The positive trends can be attributed to a variety of things, including the decreased opportunities for transmission, particularly in high-risk settings,” the Health Department said in an announcement today. “Several weeks ago, bars were closed, and the indoor operations of a variety of businesses and institutions were moved outdoors.
“Today’s seven-day average of cases is around 2,600 cases per day. This is down from a couple weeks ago where the county was seeing over 3,000 cases per day. The seven-day positivity rate has remained mostly flat over the month of July, hovering between 8 and 8.8%. And finally, hospitalizations, a key indicator of health system capacity, is on a positive trend with 2,000 hospitalizations on average. This number had ticked up to 2,200 in the middle of July. Although all of these key indicators are still too high, the plateauing of the trends is encouraging.”
As of today, the Health Department has confirmed 12 new deaths and 1,634 new cases of COVID-19. To date, it has identified 193,788 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County, and a total of 4,701 deaths. Upon further investigation, 13 cases and three deaths reported earlier were not L.A. County residents.
There are 1,784 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Of hospitalized patients, 30% are in intensive care units and 18% are currently ventilated.
Public Health has a dedicated call line for confirmed cases of COVID-19. If you are positive for COVID-19 and have not yet connected with a public health specialist or need more information on services, call toll-free at 1-833-540-0473. Residents who do not have COVID-19 should continue to call 211 for resources or more information.
The Reopening Protocols, COVID-19 Surveillance Interactive Dashboard, Roadmap to Recovery, Recovery Dashboard, and additional things you can do to protect yourself, your family and your community are on the Public Health websitewww.publichealth.lacounty.gov.
In West Hollywood the total number of confirmed infections as of today remains at 433. The number of WeHo residents who have died of COVID-19 related illnesses remains at five. In Beverly Hills, the number of confirmed infections has increased by two to 543. The number of COVID-19 related deaths in Beverly Hills remains at 10. In Culver City the count is 325, up one from yesterday’s count. The number of deaths remains at 29.
Hollywood has 882 confirmed infections, an increase of 11 from Sunday’s count. The number of deaths remains at nine. The Melrose neighborhood has 17 newly confirmed infections, bringing its total to 1,463. The number of deaths to date is 52.
Public Health has a dedicated call line for confirmed cases of COVID-19. If you are positive for COVID-19 and have not yet connected with a public health specialist or need more information on services, call toll-free at 1 (833) 540-0473. Residents who do not have COVID-19 can continue to call 211 for resources or more information.
As noted before, one way the virus can be transmitted is through a cough, a sneeze or even through air that comes from the mouth when someone talks. For that reason, residents must wear face coverings when out in public and can be cited for not doing so. The citations come with a $250 fine and a $50 administrative fee.
West Hollywood residents with questions about the COVID-19 pandemic or who are looking for resources to deal with it can find answers on the City of West Hollywood’s website. Here is a list of links to sections about particular subjects and issues:
• Renter Resources
• Resident Resources
• Worker Resources
• Older Adult Resources
