In the face of steadily increasing COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations, Los Angeles County residents will again be required to wear masks in indoor public settings beginning Saturday night, health officials announced Thursday. Pasadena spokesperson Lisa Derderian said the city is reviewing options for a similar mandate.
Derderian pointed out that while Pasadena’s COVID-19 case rates are lower than LA County, the rates are concerning because of significant increases in the past 2 weeks and confirmation of Delta variant infections this week.
The Pasadena Public Health Department reported 16 new infections and no deaths on Thursday, bringing the city’s pandemic totals to 11,500 cases of COVID-19. A total of 351 fatalities have been documented.
The city’s average number of daily infections over the prior week stood at 12.4.
County Health Officer Dr. Muntu Davis said the county is “not where we need to be” in terms of vaccinations against the virus, as evidenced by seven straight days of new cases numbers that topped 1,000. On Thursday, the county reported 1,537 new infections, the highest number since early March.
Davis said the rate of virus spread in the county has officially risen from moderate to substantial, with infections five times more likely to occur among unvaccinated residents.
As a result, Davis said a revised county Health Officer Order will take effect at 11:59 p.m. Saturday, requiring all residents to wear masks in indoor public settings, regardless of vaccination status. The county previously only recommended such mask-wearing in an effort to slow the spread of the virus and protect unvaccinated residents.
There are still nearly 4 million county residents who are unvaccinated.
The new cases reported by the county Thursday lifted the cumulative total from throughout the pandemic to 1,262,578. The county reported three more COVID-19 deaths, lifting the overall death toll to 24,566.
The number of people hospitalized in Los Angeles County due to the virus jumped to 452 on Thursday, according to state figures, up from 406 on Wednesday, with 96 people in intensive care. The number of people hospitalized has been climbing steadily for the past three weeks, and is now double the number reported when COVID health restrictions were lifted statewide on June 15.
The rolling-average rate of people testing positive for the virus also continued to climb, reaching 3.75% on Thursday, up from 3.7% Wednesday and well above the 0.3% rate from a month ago.
The increase in infections and hospitalizations is widely blamed on the highly infectious “Delta” variant of the virus. The variant was first detected in India, where widespread infections were reported. The variant is also credited for significant outbreaks in the United Kingdom and other parts of the world.
Pasadena has reported its first death from COVID-19 since the beginning of April, officials said Monday, a sign that the pandemic — even in a community with high vaccination rates — is seeing numbers of infections on the rise again as the region emerges from mass restrictions and physical distancing orders.
Aman who died Thursday was an unvaccinated Pasadena resident older than 65, according to the Pasadena Public Health Department. He had underlying health conditions, and a follow-up investigation showed that “unvaccinated household members were likely the source of exposure,” officials said. It was the first COVID- 19 death in 98 days, and it came as the city, like the county at large, is beginning to see an uptick in cases, particularly among unvaccinated people.
All told, the city has seen 11,457 total confirmed cases, with 14 reported on Monday. The coronavirus pandemic has led to the deaths of 351 people in the city, including the latest reported Monday, the first since April 1.
From early May, the city’s seven-day case average hovered around 2.7 and dipped to less than one by early June, according to statistics from the city, which operates a health department separate from the county’s.
By late June and early July, the seven-day case average had begun ticking up to 10.3, where it stands now. The city’s high point was in early January, when it stood near 200. The recent increase in cases and predominance of the significantly more infectious Delta variant are further reasons for everyone who is eligible for COVID-19 vaccination to get vaccinated as soon as possible. Officials, as of Monday, had not reported the finding of the delta variant in the city, which is said to be more infectious than earlier strains. The county at large has seen several cases of the more transmissible strain and has seen its case numbers rise in recent days.
The variant, which caused rampant infections across India and other parts of the world, is spreading in the United States and locally, passing more easily from person to person and carrying the potential for more severe illness.
For the fourth consecutive day, the number of new coronavirus infections reported in Los Angeles County topped 1,000 on Monday, as health officials urged adherence to infection- control measures at workplaces. Traditionally, daily coronavirus numbers have been dramatically low on Sundays and Mondays due to lags in reporting test results from the weekend, meaning the infection numbers are likely larger than the numbers being released by the county. Still, the county reported 1,113 new cases on Sunday and another 1,059 Monday.
Last Monday’s new cases lifted the cumulative countywide number of infections since the pandemic began to 1,258,685. The county reported one additional death on Monday, raising the countywide pandemic death toll to 24,543.
Pasadena’s efforts on vaccinations have been generally celebrated, as they outpace surrounding jurisdictions and the state. As of Monday, the Pasadena Public Health Department had vaccinated 78.5% of the city. Nearly 90% have received at least one dose. Pasadena public health officials continued to convey the message to get vaccinated.
Anyone not fully vaccinated should take all precautions — wear a mask in indoor public settings, move social activities outdoors as much as possible and limit to others who are fully vaccinated, and wash your hands or use hand sanitizer frequently when outside your home.
Coronavirus vaccines are available through the Pasadena Public Health Department for free to people ages 12 years and older. For more information and to register for an appointment, visit MyTurn.ca.gov
From the New York Times: As the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus fuels outbreaks in the United States, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned on Friday that “this is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated.”
Cases, hospitalizations and deaths remain far below last winter’s peak, and vaccines are effective against Delta, but the C.D.C. director, Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, urged people to get fully vaccinated to receive robust protection, pleading: “Do it for yourself, your family and for your community. And please do it to protect your young children who right now can’t get vaccinated themselves.”
The number of new virus cases is likely to increase in the coming weeks, and those cases are likely to be concentrated in areas with low vaccine coverage, officials said at a White House briefing on the pandemic.
“Our biggest concern is that we are going to continue to see preventable cases, hospitalizations and, sadly, deaths among the unvaccinated,” Dr. Walensky said. The nation surpassed 34 million cumulative cases on Friday, according to a New York Times database.
Delta now accounts for more than half of new infections across the country, and case numbers have been rising in every state. Roughly 28,000 new cases are reported each day, up from just 11,000 a day less than a month ago.
So far, data suggests that many of the vaccines — including the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson shots — provide good protection against Delta, especially against the worst outcomes, including hospitalization and death. (Receiving a single dose of a two-shot regimen provides only weak protection against the variant, however.) Nearly 60 percent of U.S. adults have been fully vaccinated, but fewer than 50 percent of all Americans have been; only those 12 and older are eligible.
“We have come a long way in our fight against this virus,” Jeffrey D. Zients, the administration’s Covid-19 response coordinator, said at the briefing.
The pace of vaccination has slowed considerably since the spring, and vaccine coverage remains highly uneven. Delta is already driving case numbers up in undervaccinated areas, including in parts of Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana.
In mid-May, when cases were on a decline, the C.D.C. said fully vaccinated people could go maskless in most scenarios, and on July 4, President Biden hosted an event for essential workers and others at the White House to tout progress against the virus. As cases increase, Americans may have to navigate seemingly diverging messaging, with local health officials advising something potentially different than the C.D.C.’s broad guidance.
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The Economy: From the New York Times: A key measure of inflation spiked in June, climbing at the fastest pace in 13 years as prices for used cars, hotel stays and restaurant meals surged while the economy reopens.
The Consumer Price Index jumped by 5.4 percent in the year through June, the Labor Department said on Tuesday, the largest year-over-year gain since 2008 but one that is expected to fade as the economy moves past a volatile reopening period. The Biden administration quickly pointed out that much of the move was tied to temporary supply issues: Prices for previously owned cars and trucks rocketed higher and accounted for more than a third of the increase.
June had the highest inflation since 2008.
Percent change in Consumer Price Index from a year prior
Yet the White House and Federal Reserve are fixated on inflation data because it has risen faster than many had expected — and the pop might last longer than they had hoped. The administration maintains that price gains will be temporary. But inside the White House, aides have in recent weeks concluded that strong increases could linger for a year or more, according to two administration officials.
Quick price gains can squeeze consumers if wages fail to keep up. Out-of-control inflation could also prod the Fed to pull back its emergency support for the economy sooner than expected, a development that would crimp the price of stocks, homes and other assets and could slow growth overall.
Policymakers still expect inflation to cool to more normal levels eventually, and markets have actually become more sanguine about the price outlook in recent weeks. Many economists argue that the current increases should level off as car supply picks up, consumer spending returns to more normal patterns, and companies rehire and expand capacity. Even so, June’s big inflation number will ramp up scrutiny of price-related data in the months ahead as policymakers assess whether the economy is at greater risk of overheating.
uesday in an interview on CNBC. “Demand came back faster than supply, and there are these temporary bottlenecks. Right now, it’s really — remain steady in the boat, don’t read too much signal into any month of data.”
Gains should soon moderate for a simple reason: The price index has looked artificially high this year when measured against very weak readings from last year, a data quirk that is beginning to fade. The so-called base effect was at its most extreme in May.
But data issues are not the full story behind the increase. Monthly price gains also jumped in June, picking up 0.9 percent from May for the biggest gain in more than a decade. Prices for dinners out, hotel rooms and washing machines are soaring as consumers spend down savings they accumulated over the course of the pandemic and suppliers struggle to keep pace with such strong demand for goods and services.
Unemployment: From the Pasadena Star-News: Buoyed by increased hiring at hotels, restaurants and theme parks, Southern California added 43,500 jobs in June and saw a year-over-year increase of 400,700 jobs, although unemployment rates ticked up in Orange County and the Inland Empire.
Figures from the state Employment Development Department show Los Angeles County got the biggest employment bump, with 28,700 jobs added last month and a year-over-year gain of 209,700 jobs added at a rate of 5.2%.
Most of June’s increases for the county came in leisure and hospitality (14,300 jobs) with additional gains in trade, transportation and utilities, professional business services, manufacturing, government and construction.
Educational and health services posted the biggest loss, 1,800 jobs, but that was offset by 5,700 jobs added in health care and social assistance.
L.A. County’s unemployment rate edged down to 10.6% from a revised 10.7% in May and landed well below the year-ago rate of 17.9% during the height of the COVID- 19 pandemic.
Orange County had the next biggest gain, with 8,600 jobs added in June and 114,900 added over the past 12 months at a rate of 7.8%.
The biggest monthly increase, as in L.A. County, came in leisure and hospitality, which added 10,000 jobs. Much of that boost likely came from increased business at Disneyland and surrounding restaurants and hotels after they were allowed to drop COVID- 19 mask restrictions, social distancing and temperature checks June 15.
Other sectors to post increases included construction (2,000 jobs), manufacturing (1,400) and trade, transportation and utilities (1,100).
Government saw the biggest decline, with a loss of 3,000 jobs.
The county’s unemployment rate rose to 6.4% in June. That was up from a revised 5.8% in May but down from 13.3% a year earlier.
The Inland Empire added 6,200 jobs last month with a yearover- year gain of 76,100.
As with the other regions, leisure and hospitality led the way, with 3,700 jobs added, followed by increases in educational and health services, trade, transportation and utilities and professional and business services.
The Inland Empire’s construction sector shed 1,500 jobs in June and more losses were seen in government, financial activities and manufacturing.
The two-county region’s unemployment rate ticked up to 7.9% from a revised 7.2% in May but was down from the year-ago level of 13.3%.
California added 73,500 jobs in June, with a year-over-year gain of 804,900 jobs — a 5.2% increase — while the state’s jobless rate held steady at 7.7%.