Businesses checked by Los Angeles County health inspectors largely continue to be in compliance with COVID-19 health requirements, although a handful of locations — primarily gyms — were cited for violations, health officials said.
The county Department of Public Health said Tuesday that inspectors visited 1,874 businesses during the week that ended Friday — and that the “majority” of them were in compliance with restrictions.
Businesses in violation of rules are generally provided with information aimed at helping them achieve compliance, but “five citations were issued to gyms and an office site for noncompliance” with health orders, according to the county.
“We are glad the majority of businesses are following the Health Officer Order on masking and other common-sense, best practice recommendations,” county Health Officer Dr. Muntu Davis said in a statement. “Getting people vaccinated as quickly as possible is essential, particularly in places where people are at the highest risk.
“Unfortunately, over the past 18 months of the pandemic, COVID-19 has been the leading cause of death, surpassing coronary heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and all other leading causes of death,” he said.
“We must continue to work on having multiple layers of protection across the entire county as we start to move into influenza season. By increasing COVID-19 vaccinations and wearing masks in indoor settings, at worksites, and in crowded spaces, we can slow the spread of the virus.”
Meanwhile, the county on Tuesday reported another 39 deaths due to COVID-19, raising the cumulative death toll from the virus to 25,114. Another 2,600 cases were also confirmed, giving the county an overall total since the pandemic began of 1,388,143.
After seeing an overall drop in hospitalizations over the past five days, the number of COVID hospital patients rose Tuesday to 1,747, up from 1,724 on Monday, according to state figures. The number of patients being treated in intensive care units rose to 463, up from 454 on Monday.
The rolling average rate of people testing positive for the virus was 2.8% as of Tuesday, the same rate as Monday but down from 3.4% a week ago.
Over the weekend, county health officials released statistics aimed at encouraging people to get vaccinated against COVID. According to the county, as of Aug. 7, unvaccinated adults between 18 and 49 years old were 25 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 than vaccinated adults of the same age. Meanwhile, unvaccinated adults over age 50 were nearly a dozen times more likely to be hospitalized than their vaccinated counterparts, and 17 times more likely to die, according to the county.
On Monday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave full authorization to the Pfizer vaccine. It was the first of the three U.S. vaccines to receive such approval. All three versions of the vaccine have been in circulation under an “emergency use” authorization from the FDA.
“The COVID-19 vaccine is safe and remains the most powerful tool we have to both lower our risk of infection and protect against serious illness and death from COVID-19 if infected,” county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement Monday. “The other tools to help reduce and prevent transmission are wearing a mask, keeping your distance, avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces, and washing your hands frequently.
“We are grateful to the many scientists and researchers who have worked tirelessly to develop and evaluate the vaccines during the most challenging public health crisis of our lifetime. We are also grateful to the FDA for their thoughtful analyses and review processes to ensure that we can have the highest confidence that the vaccine is safe and effective. I hope the milestone of this vaccine’s full approval gives those that were waiting to get vaccinated the confidence to now take this important step.”
The latest figures show that 73% of county residents age 12 and over have received at least one dose of vaccine, and 63% are fully vaccinated. Among residents aged 65 and older, 90% have received at least one dose, and 80% are fully vaccinated.
!P R O P A G A N D A!
I think the fear porn crowd should stay inside with their masks, their 8 vaccines, and their panic and leave intelligent healthy Americans to live their lives… Israeli study just came out that the vaccinated are 27 x more likely to get sick from Covid again than the unvaccinated with the Covid anti-bodies. I think we need to have a vaccine passport for the dangerous people that got the vaccine and are now spreading the Delta variant to healthy unvaccinated people with anti-bodies based on this new scientific study. No gyms, no restaurants, no stores, no concerts. Exactly what you… Read more »
“Israeli study just came out that the vaccinated are 27 x more likely to get sick from Covid”
And what study would that be? Why don’t you link it for us?
You’re going to have a hard time once the LA county vaccine mandate gets approved. Good luck buddy! 🙂
Blacks and Hispanics are the most hesitant groups with less than 30% vaccinated. Still support a mandate buddy?
I am horrified by viewing images and promotions on IG for events in LA and elsewhere where I see perhaps hundreds of people dancing with no masks and no social distancing. The elimination of the mask mandate on June 15th was a terrible mistake. And now we have Delta, worse than the original C-19. People have been lulled into a false sense of security. My grave concern is how many of these individuals will wind up C-19 positive or in a hospital. There has been a number of verified breakthrough cases among the fully vaccinated, most notable being Jesse Jackson… Read more »
The massless crowds in WeHo clubs and bars are, frankly, an inspiration! Covid has become an endemic disease that, while we will never get rid of it, we have de-fanged with effective vaccines. If you continue feeling a sense of horror, I’d recommend embracing infection, as this disease is a part of life on Earth now. It’s time to party and move on with life!
I don’t think you’d be making this comment if you had been on a ventilator or worse. The Delta varaint is very contagious. If we continue to act as if everything has returned to normal, we will never return to normal. Your comment would also lead me to believe that if you were alive during the height of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, you probably would engage in unsafe sex and to hell with condoms. Or perhaps you have a death wish.
If you seriously think Covid is going away, you’re kidding yourself. This is a new, very contagious coronavirus that has been introduced into the human population (as many others have), and it’s great that we have moved to a place we can be exposed with low risk of hospitalization or death. As someone who is consumed with concern about about such a small risk of death for the vaccinated, then you certainly must also advocate for the abolition of cars or a lowering of the national speed limit to 25mph. Crashes are the leading cause of death in the US… Read more »
It’s apparent you are irrational and trying to engage in a rational dialog is, therefore, impossible.
Good, stay inside nobody wants your panic and fear ruining the world anymore. Read the Israeli trial results, if you’re vaccinated turns out you guys are the hosts for carrying the new variants and now have a weakened immune system that makes you 27 x more of a potential burden on the medical industry than the unvaccinated with the anti bodies by carrying the variants and being the hosts for future variants. Natural immunity is the solution after all. The vaccinated are going to continue to get the new variants and will have to go through a litany of vaccines… Read more »
Walk into any dance floor in WeHo on the weekend, zero compliance. I’m shocked health inspectors have not seen this. Maybe they only work 9am-5pm and don’t look at social media. Per LA County Order You are allowed to take off your mask while you are: Actively eating or drinking as long as you are sitting or standing in a specific place such as a table, counter, or ticketed seat. This means that you can briefly remove your mask when you are actually eating or drinking but you must put it back on immediately afterwards. You must also wear a… Read more »
Follow the money. The bars/clubs generate a lot of revenue for Weho.