LA A Day From 'High' COVID Level; Hospitalizations, Reinfections Spike

LOS ANGELES, CA — An uptick in COVID-19 hospitalizations and cases across Los Angeles County has the region on track to climb back into the "high" COVID-19 activity level as early as Thursday, county health officials said Thursday. That would make Los Angeles County two weeks out from a return to mandatory indoor masking.

The seemingly imminent return to masking prompted some debate among Los Angeles County supervisors Tuesday as some worried it could hurt businesses that have to compete with companies in adjacent counties that don't have mask mandates. Others saw a return to mask mandates as overdue because so many people refuse to wear masks unless they are forced to, regardless of the risk in the community.

In Los Angeles county, COVID hospitalizations are spiking, and many people battling infections have had the coronavirus more than once. The county reported 5,170 new COVID-19 infections, along with 14 new deaths Tuesday. According to state figures, there were 1,153 COVID-positive patients in county hospitals, up from 1,014 on Saturday. Of those patients, 115 were being treated in intensive care units.

Since the troubling Omicron variant BA.5 became dominant in the region, reinfections have skyrocketed in California. The state reported a little more than 2,000 reinfections each week in the spring, and now that number has soared past 10,000.

The county is already in the "medium" COVID-19 level as defined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, based on the elevated rate of people being infected with the virus. If the county's rate of daily COVID-positive patients being admitted to area hospitals tops 10 per 100,000 residents, it will enter the "high" category.

As of Tuesday, that rate was at 8.8 per 100,000 residents.

Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer, echoing projections she gave last week, told the Board of Supervisors Tuesday that she expects the county to enter the "high" activity category within days.

"Given the continued increase, we do anticipate by this Thursday the county will move into that high level," Ferrer said.

If the county remains in the "high" category for two consecutive weeks, a mandatory indoor mask-wearing mandate will be imposed, she said. Under the current pace, that mandate will take effect by July 29.

"I do recognize that when we return to universal indoor masking to reduce high spread, for many this will feel like a step backwards," Ferrer said.

But she said universal masking "makes a lot of sense because it helps us to reduce risk."

She again pointed to recent studies showing dramatic reduction in infection risk for people who wear face coverings, particularly for people who wear higher-grade masks, such as N95 or KN95 masks.

Masks are already still mandated in some indoor spaces — health care facilities, transit hubs, on transit vehicles, airports, correctional facilities and shelters. A universal mandate would spread the requirement to all indoor public spaces, including shared office spaces, manufacturing facilities, retail stores, indoor events, indoor restaurants, bars and schools.

Supervisor Kathryn Barger urged Ferrer and health officials to conduct outreach to local businesses to discuss the impacts they could face, "especially when surrounding counties are not considering" a mandate.

Supervisor Sheila Kuehl again forcefully backed the idea of requiring masks, saying she has "no patience" for people who won't wear them.

"People are just not wearing them when they're not mandated," Kuehl said.

Health officials have warned that the actual number of new infections occurring in the county is not fully reflected in the daily numbers, since many people now rely on at-home tests, the results of which are not always reported to the county.

The 14 new virus-related deaths reported Tuesday lifted the overall death toll in the county to 32,464. Health officials have said that a majority of the deaths occurred in people with at least one underlying health condition, mainly hypertension, diabetes and heart disease.

The average daily rate of people testing positive for the virus was 16.3 percent as of Tuesday.

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