Cases: On Thursday, Pasadena reported 17 new cases and no new fatalities from COVID-19.
The number of COVID19-positive patients in Los Angeles County hospitals held mostly steady on Friday, while another 21 virus- related deaths were reported.
According to state figures, the COVID-19 hospitalization number in the county was 350 as of Friday, down slightly from 351 on Thursday. The number of those patients being treated in intensive care ticked slightly upward, from 52 on Thursday to 59 on Friday. The 21 new COVID19-related deaths lifted the county’s overall death toll from the virus to 31,576. Another 889 virus cases were confirmed Friday, giving the county a cumulative pandemic total of 2,829,091.
The rolling average daily rate of people testing positive for the virus was 0.7% as of Friday, roughly the same as it has been for the past two weeks.
Los Angeles County is seeing a sharp rise in the spread of the highly contagious Omicron sub-variant known as BA.2, county health officials confirmed Thursday. At the same time, overall cases continue to fall to levels not seen since July, creating a muddled picture of the pandemic's trajectory this spring in Southern California.
BA. 2 accounted 14.7% of all specially sequenced cases as of the week ending March 5 — more than double its share of cases just one week earlier. At this rate, BA.2 could overtake Omicron as the dominant variant in Los Angeles in April. BA.2 is believed to be roughly 30 percent more contagious than Omicron.
Still, Los Angeles County has recorded more than 2.8 million COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic and 75 percent of eligible Angelenos are fully vaccinated. Health officials and county leaders will be watching to see if enough Los Angeles County residents possess the kind of immunity that could stave off a BA.2 surge.
In the meantime, Department of Public Health officials urge caution.
Mask-wearing mandates have been lifted in the county in outdoor and indoor settings, although face coverings remain strongly recommended, particularly for people who are unvaccinated, are at heightened risk of severe illness from the virus or who regularly interact with vulnerable people.
County health officials noted that the growing reach of the BA.2 sub- variant mirrors trends being seen in some East Coast states and in Europe.
The county on Thursday reported 27 new COVID-19 deaths, raising the overall death toll from the virus in the county to 31,561.
Another 734 infections were also reported, giving the county a cumulative total of 2,827,802 from throughout the pandemic.
According to state figures, there were 351 COVID-positive patients in county hospitals as of Thursday, down from 378 on Wednesday. The number of those patients being treated in intensive care was 52, down from 54 a day earlier.
According to the county, as of last Thursday, 83% of eligible county residents aged 5 and older had received at least one dose of COVID vaccine, and 75% were fully vaccinated. However, only 30% of children aged 5-11 have been fully vaccinated, the lowest rate of any age group.
Among Black residents, only 55% are fully vaccinated, along with 59% of Latina/o residents, compared to 73% of white residents and 82% of Asians.
Indoor protocols: Los Angeles County will align with the state and lift the requirement that attendees of large indoor events, such as sporting events or concerts, show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative coronavirus test, public health officials said Monday.
According to the county Department of Public Health, the requirement will be lifted April 1 in conjunction with the state, which is also scrapping the mandate.
The move follows the lifting of other COVID-19 restrictions, such as indoor mask-wearing requirements, in response to dwindling infection and hospitalization numbers.
But county health officials continued to urge precautions against further spread of the virus, noting that the BA.2 subvariant of the omicron variant of the coronavirus is slowly beginning to expand locally and will likely gain a stronger foothold in the county, mirroring the pattern seen overseas and in some East Coast cities.
Experts fear U.S. won’t see next surge coming: From the LA Times: As coronavirus infections rise in parts of the world, experts are watching for a potential new COVID-19 surge in the U.S. — and wondering how long it could take to detect.
Despite monitoring improvements over the last two years, they say, some recent pandemic developments don’t bode well:
As more people take rapid virus tests at home, fewer are getting the gold-standard tests upon which the government relies to track case counts.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will soon use fewer labs to look for new variants.
Health officials are increasingly focusing on hospital admissions , which rise only after a surge has arrived.
A wastewater surveillance program remains a patchwork that cannot yet be counted on for the data needed to understand coming surges.
White House officials say the government is running out of funds for COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and testing.
For example, scientists this week touted a 6-month-old program that tests international travelers flying into four U.S. airports. Genetic testing of a sample on Dec. 14 turned up a coronavirus variant — the Omicron subvariant known as BA.2 — seven days earlier than any other reported detection in the United States.
More good news: U.S. cases, hospitalizations and deaths have been falling for weeks.
But the situation is different elsewhere. The World Health Organization this week reported that the global number of new coronavirus cases increased two weeks in a row , probably because prevention measures have been halted in numerous countries and because BA.2 spreads easily.
Some public health experts aren’t certain what that means for the U.S.
BA.2 accounts for a growing share of U.S. cases , the CDC said — more than one-third nationally and more than half in the Northeast. Small increases in overall case rates have been noted in New York and in hospital admissions in New England.
However, some of the northern U.S. states with the highest rates of BA.2 have some of the lowest case rates, noted Katriona Shea of Penn State University.
Move to roll back vaccine checks: Los Angeles on Wednesday took another step toward rolling back its COVID-19 vaccine verification requirements for indoor restaurants, gyms, movie theaters and other businesses even amid concerns that circulation of the “stealth” Omicron subvariant, BA.2, might fuel an increase in cases this spring.
The City Council voted 13-1 to make it voluntary for such businesses to verify that people patronizing their indoor areas are vaccinated. The changes would also remove such requirements for big outdoor events.
With coronavirus cases and COVID-19 hospitalizations on the downswing, the L.A. County Department of Public Health earlier this month relaxed its own screening rules at outdoor mega-events — such as at theme parks, concert venues and sports stadiums — and indoor portions of bars, wineries, breweries, distilleries, nightclubs and lounges.
Effective April 1, state officials also will lift the requirement that those attending indoor events with crowds of more than 1,000 must show proof they have been vaccinated against COVID-19 or recently tested negative for the coronavirus.
However, that’s not to say such requirements will vanish entirely. Local public health officials, as well as individual venues, may opt to keep them.
Officials say the recent relaxation of vaccine verification requirements and widespread lifting of mask mandates reflect the ground California has won in its fight against the two-year-old pandemic.
Airlines ask Biden to drop mask mandate on flights: An airline trade group that supported a federal mask mandate for all air travelers has asked the Biden administration to end the mask requirement and eliminate other COVID-19 protocols for travelers.
Airlines for America, which represents American, Delta, United, Southwest, Alaska, JetBlue and other carriers, released a letter Wednesday addressed to President Biden, saying “the persistent and steady decline of hospitalization and death rates are the most compelling indicator that our country is well protected against disease from COVID-19.”
“Now is the time for the administration to sunset federal transportation travel restrictions, including the international predeparture testing requirement and federal mask mandates,” the letter said.
The U.S. Travel Assn., which represents the country’s travel industry, also issued a letter Wednes- day, asking the Biden administration to end coronavirus testing for international travelers to the U.S. and mask mandates on flights.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention two weeks ago announced a one-month extension to the mask mandate for passengers on planes, buses, trains and transit hubs, to April 18. The CDC also said it was developing guidance to ease the mandate as soon as April.
In response to the extension, the Transportation Workers Union, which represents mechanics, baggage handlers, flight attendants and other transportation workers, said it supported any “federal guidance based on science” but noted that the mask mandate has led to harassment and assaults against flight attendants.
The unions that represent flight attendants and Airlines for America initially supported the decision made by the Biden administration — adopted soon after he took office in 2021 — to adopt a federal mask policy, requiring passengers to wear face coverings in airports and on airplanes except when eating or drinking.
Are any of us surprised? Thanks to a sudden $140 million cash infusion, officials in Broward County, Florida, recently broke ground on a high-end hotel that will have views of the Atlantic Ocean and an 11,000-squarefoot spa. In New York, Dutchess County pledged $12 million for renovations of a minor league baseball stadium to meet requirements the New York Yankees set for their farm teams. And in Massachusetts, lawmakers delivered $5 million to pay off debts of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate in Boston, a nonprofit established to honor the late senator that has struggled financially.
The three distinctly different outlays have one thing in common: Each is among the scores of projects that state and local governments across the United States are funding with federal virus relief money despite having little to do with combating the pandemic, a review by The Associated Press has found. Editorializing on my part: Those funds were provided for pandemic relief to aid those suffering economically because of COVID-19. Any funds directed to anything else should be returned to the Federal government to they can be used in places that still need pandemic relief!
The Economy: Chair Jerome Powell said Monday the Federal Reserve would raise its benchmark short-term interest rate faster than expected, and high enough to restrain growth and hiring, if it decides this would be necessary to slow rampaging inflation.
Powell’s message was more hawkish than his comments were after last week’s Fed meeting, when officials raised their key rate a quarter-point from near zero to a range of 0.25% to 0.5%. (“Hawks” typically support higher rates to stave off inflation, while “doves” generally prefer lower rates to bolster hiring.)
Gas prices: Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday released the long-awaited details of his tax refund plan to send $400 to Californians for each registered vehicle, a move that would put more money in the pockets of families who own more cars — even the state’s highest-income residents — and exclude those without cars from receiving the payments.
Newsom’s $11-billion proposal is designed to offset the rising prices consumers are paying at the pump and also includes savings for those who rely on public transportation. The plan would include $750 million in grants for free or substantially reduced public transit fare, but Californians who don’t own a registered vehicle would otherwise not receive a refund.
The governor, who is up for reelection this year, would cap payments at $800 for any person with more than one vehicle registered under their name, though households with multiple vehicles registered to different family members could receive far more than that amount.
Newsom said the state is “taking immediate action to get money directly into the pockets of Californians who are facing higher gas prices.”
Average gas prices in California are currently $5.875 per gallon, an increase of more than $1 from a month ago and $2 from a year ago, according to the American Automobile Assn.
The governor’s plan would be subject to approval by the Legislature and could set him up for a potential battle with leaders of the Senate and Assembly, who introduced their own proposal last week to provide financial relief from the increasing costs of all goods, with more money for families.
The plan from Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) centers on a $200 rebate for each taxpayer and dependent, and excludes the top 10% of earners in the state. Their proposal gives money to eligible Californians whether or not they own a vehicle.
The governor’s office said Newsom is open to discussing with the Legislature ways to eliminate refunds for high-value cars, but his proposal is currently structured to send payments in the form of $400 debit cards to all vehicle registrants, including motorcycle owners, regardless of income.
Newsom unveiled his plan two weeks after he teased in his State of the State speech that he would put more money back in the pockets of Californians to address higher gasoline costs. An advisor to Newsom told reporters after the speech that the refunds would likely go to vehicle owners. Newsom’s office initially distanced itself from those comments before eventually settling on an approach that ties refunds to drivers.
Environmentalists have argued that connecting refunds to vehicle ownership conflicts with the state’s effort to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and remove cars from the road.
Newsom’s office said his plan will offer the same refunds for electric vehicles and includes a call to accelerate his January budget proposal for more funding for zero-emission vehicles and infrastructure, though that funding is not included in his $11-billion plan.
Employment: From the Pasadena Star-News: Southern California bosses added 96,600 jobs in February — double the recovery’s pace — but the four-county region is still 180,200 workers short of precoronavirus employment.
There were 7.71 million employees last month in the area covered by the Southern California News Group. This staffing level was up 1.27% in a month and 7.16% in a year.
Last month’s hiring compares to dropping 128,900 jobs the previous month but adding 515,300 over 12 months. Hiring has averaged a 47,600 monthly pace in the recovery from 2020’s lockdowns.
Despite this noteworthy rebound from the iced economy of spring 2020, total employment in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties is still 98% of February 2020, the last time the economy wasn’t shackled by the virus. And Southern California’s combined jobless rate for February was 4.95% — the pandemic era’s low — vs. a revised 5.67% the previous month. It was 3.94% in previrus February 2020 and its pandemic peak was 17.64% in May 2020.
This has been a very split jobs rebound.
Employment in eateries, tourism and entertainment is at 856,900 — 90% of pre-pandemic staffing vs. 99% for the rest of the economy. But these “fun” businesses — with 11% of local jobs — added 22,700 workers last month or 23% of all hires.