Omicron Unlikely To Trigger Lockdowns In Los Angeles County

LOS ANGELES, CA — Los Angeles County health officials expect the newly identified Omicron variant of COVID-19 to hit Los Angeles, but they don't expect the city to lockdown as a result.

The combination of the vaccine and existing masking measures may be enough to stave off a catastrophic surge. Still, some changes related to testing, quarantine and nursing home visitations may be in the works, said Barbara Ferrer, director of the Los Angeles County Public Health Department.

At the federal level, an advisory committee voted Tuesday to recommend that the government authorize the use of Merck's antiviral pill for severe coronavirus cases, and the FDA is expected to authorize a more highly touted antiviral pill by Pfizer later this month. Officials hope the improved treatments and vaccination rates will position the country for the Omicron variant.

In Los Angeles, there are currently no plans to change the Health Officer Order to tighten infection-control regulations, she said. Ferrer told the county Board of Supervisors the county already has "really sensible precautions in place," most notably the requirement for people to wear masks indoors and at large outdoor gatherings. She said if the county didn't already have that mandate in place, "we'd be suggesting it" in response to the Omicron variant, which was first identified in South Africa and has now spread to at least 16 countries. It has not yet been detected in the United States, but health officials believe it is already present.

Still, the county may change rules for visitation and testing and skilled nursing centers — places that traditionally seen more outbreaks and higher death rates due to the vulnerability of patients. Such changes would be likely if Omicron proves to be resistant to current COVID vaccines.

Additionally, quarantine requirements for people exposed to the coronavirus may be beefed up regardless of vaccination status. County health officials also began circulating information to health care providers about risks of international travel and protocols for submitting samples to be tested for the new mutation.

"There are steps we're taking to prepare our county, starting with providing residents and our partners with updated information on Omicron and precautionary safety measures," Ferrer told the board. "Today, L.A. County is sending an advisory to all of our health care providers detailing information on assessing risk associated with travel and directions for submitting samples for sequencing (to identify variants)."

She said the county is also working with the state to "provide information and offer a rapid-testing option for international travelers at LAX," and to ensure travelers arriving from Omicron-affected countries in South Africa are aware of federal requirements for quarantine and testing.

"While we don't know for certain the impact of Omicron, we're clear that there are immediate action steps we can each take to protect each other and continue to slow transmission COVID-19," she said. "The most effective tool remains the vaccines."

Ferrer said she sympathizes with residents anxious to see an end to pandemic-related health regulations, and the dread that comes with news of another COVID variant that could extend mask-wearing and other precautions.

"We hate wearing our masks. We hate rules. We hate everything about this pandemic," Ferrer told the board. "And we're right there with everybody else on that. This has been an extraordinarily long and challenging time, and people are right to feel fatigue.

"I think the best way to put all of this in perspective is we actually have a lot more powerful tools at hand than we did last year. And so while we're fatigued, just as a reminder, (during the last) winter surge, we neither had a lot of rapid testing available, nor did we have vaccines available, nor did we have on the immediate horizon some fairly decent possibility for therapeutics that are targeted for COVID. We have all of that right now."

In the wake of Omicron, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday stepped up its vaccine recommendation, urging everyone aged 18 and over to get a booster shot. The CDC had earlier recommended the shots for those aged 50 and up, and only suggested it for younger adults.

According to the most recent figures, 82.5% of Los Angeles County residents 12 and over have received at least one dose of COVID vaccine, and 74% are fully vaccinated. Of the county's overall population of 10.3 million people, 71% received at least one dose, and 63% were fully vaccinated.

Of the roughly 5.99 million residents who were fully vaccinated as of Nov. 16, 75,249 have subsequently tested positive for the virus, for a rate of 1.26%, Ferrer said. Of the vaccinated population, 2,528 have been hospitalized, for a rate of 0.042%, and 422 have died, a rate of 0.007%.

The county on Tuesday reported another 28 COVID deaths, raising the virus-related death toll to 27,166. Another 843 new cases were also reported, giving the county a cumulative pandemic total of 1,527,132.

According to state figures, there were 562 COVID-19-positive patients in county hospitals as of Tuesday, down slightly from 569 on Monday. The number of those patients in intensive care was 165, up from 159 a day earlier.

The rolling average daily rate of people testing positive for the virus in the county was 2.9% on Tuesday, up from last week's daily rate of about 1%. County health officials attributed the increase to the significant drop in overall testing due to schools being closed for the holidays. Many schools mandate weekly COVID testing for students and staff.

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