COVID-19 Infections Climb In LA County Following Spring Break

LOS ANGELES, CA — As happened the last two years of the pandemic, spring break vacation appears to have contributed to a spike in coronavirus cases among Los Angeles County, students and school staff, health officials said Wednesday.

Cases, overall, have doubled in less than three weeks across Los Angeles, and they are up more than 131 percent statewide over the last two weeks. Along with spring break spread, the highly contagious Omicron subvariant BA.2 is also driving the uptick, county health officials said.

The county reported 1,686 new COVID cases on Wednesday and ten more deaths. The uptick in cases has not translated to an increase in hospitalizations or deaths. Though hospitalizations and daily death tolls have traditionally climbed a few weeks after spikes in cases, there is evidence that the BA.2 subvariant may lead to more cases but not a significant spike in cases.

The uptick comes as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued surprising findings this week: 60 percent of all Americans and 75 percent of American children have already contracted the coronavirus. The study, reported by the New York Times, attributed the vast majority of cases to the more contagious but less deadly Omicron variant. Before the Omicron surge at the end of 2021, only half as many Americans had antibodies indicating prior infection, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found.

COVID-19 continues to spread among school-age children in Los Angeles county. According to the county Department of Public Health, there were 1,842 positive COVID tests among the 529,000 that were administered during the week ending Friday, translating to a test-positivity rate of 0.35%. This compares to 844 positive tests out of 450,000 during the week ending April 8, for a test-positivity rate of 0.19%. The increase corresponds with new cases among students and staff returning from spring break.

School-related outbreaks ticked upward slightly to 13 during the week that ended Saturday. That was up from 11 during the week ending April 9.

"As individuals return from spring break and celebrating spring holidays, the highly infectious BA.2 subvariant is contributing to case and outbreak increases across the county," Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement. "Those who have had a recent exposure to an infected individual should monitor themselves carefully for any signs of illness. If they are asymptomatic, they are not required to quarantine provided they wear a mask when indoors around others for 10 days after their last exposure and they get tested as soon as possible. This is particularly important at work and school sites, where individuals are often in close contact with others for extended periods of time. These simple steps reduce unnecessary risk for everyone and can break the chain of transmission."

County officials said 744 school-based COVID vaccination clinics are planned during May.

The county's cumulative pandemic total is 2,867,415, and the overall death toll is 31,951 as of Wednesday.

The average daily rate of people testing positive for the virus was 1.7% as of Wednesday.

The number of COVID-positive patients in county hospitals remained relatively stable, at 235, up slightly from 232 on Tuesday. Of those patients, 28 were being treated in intensive care, up from 25 a day earlier.

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