Coronavirus Rates Fluctuate As Mask Mandate Looms Over Holidays In LA

LOS ANGELES, CA — Fluctuating COVID-19 rates in Los Angeles County have triggered two of the three criteria established for the return of mandatory indoor masking.

The rate of coronavirus spread and hospitalization already meet the criteria, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. If more than 10 percent of the county's hospital beds are taken up by coronavirus patients, then the mask mandate would go back into effect.

County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said the health department's initial projections showed that the hospital bed percentage would reach 10 percent by Dec. 20, but hospitalizations have been seesawing up and down of late making it unclear if masks will become mandated in Los Angeles before the holidays. New cases may be leveling off, dropping slightly over the last week.

However, Los Angeles is heading into the season of holiday gatherings with the coronavirus spreading at high rates, and health officials are strongly recommending that people resume wearing masks while in indoor public spaces.

The average daily rate of people testing positive for the virus was 11.6% as of Tuesday, roughly the same as a week ago.

Los Angeles County reported more than 1,900 new COVID-19 infections Tuesday, along with 18 virus-related deaths.

Meanwhile, the number of COVID-positive patients in county hospitals climbed back to 1,267 as of Tuesday, equaling Saturday's total. Of those patients, 154 were being treated in intensive care, up from 146 on Saturday.

The 1,934 new infections reported Tuesday gave the county a cumulative total from throughout the pandemic of 3,587,829. Health officials have stressed that the official number is likely an undercount of actual COVID cases in the county, since many people opt to take at-home tests, and many others don't test at all.

The 18 new deaths gave the county a virus-related death toll of 34,352.

County health officials are closely watching virus-related hospitalization numbers as they consider whether to re-impose an indoor mask- wearing mandate. The county moved closer to such a move last week when it moved into the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's "high" COVID activity category, thanks to a new infection rate of 258 per 100,000 people.

County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer has said the county will re-impose an indoor mask mandate if it remains in the "high" category and if the county's virus-related hospitalization numbers reach two thresholds:

— if the rate of daily hospital admissions tops 10 per 100,000 residents; and

— if the percent of staffed hospital beds occupied by COVID patients tops 10%.

The county has already surpassed the first threshold, with the rate of daily hospital admissions already at 14.8 per 100,000 residents as of Thursday. The percent of hospital beds occupied by COVID patients was 6.9% as of Thursday, still below the 10% threshold.

Masks are still required indoors at health-care and congregate-care facilities, for anyone exposed to the virus in the past 10 days, and at businesses where they are required by the owner.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.