COVID Deaths, Hospitalizations Surge In LA County; Mask Mandate Likely

LOS ANGELES, CA — Friday capped a troubling week in pandemic developments as COVID deaths and hospitalizations jumped sharply in Los Angeles County increasing the likelihood that Angelenos will soon be required to wear masks indoors again.

The spikes — 18 COVID deaths and 1,021 hospitalizations and 6,416 additional cases reported Friday — come after weeks in which COVID cases quickly climbed as hospitalizations lagged. Officials blame the highly infectious BA.4 and BA.5 variants for the surging cases. Friday's death toll is the county's highest since March.

As she has for weeks, Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer urged people to don masks while indoors in public places even if it's not required. COVID transmission rates are high in Los Angeles. The average daily rate of people testing positive for the virus was 15.7% as of Friday. Some people who recovered from infections in late spring are already becoming reinfected due to waiting natural immunity, health officials reported.

Hospital numbers have been steadily rising in recent months, an increase health officials have attributed to renewed rapid spread of the virus thanks to the infectious BA.4 and BA.5 variants, which authorities say are highly contagious and capable of re-infecting previous patients.

Ferrer noted that the BA.4 and BA.5 variants of COVID are now responsible for nearly 40% of all local cases that underwent testing to identify variants. That's roughly two-and-a-half times higher than the rate from just two weeks ago. Nationally, the CDC estimates those two variants are responsible for about 70% of sequenced cases.

"We all now face a higher risk of getting COVID because there are more people infected with the virus who can transmit to others when we gather, go shopping, or attend events," Ferrer said in a statement Friday. "Essential workers, especially those that work directly with the public, also now have more exposures to the virus during their workday."

Health officials have said that many of those patients entered the hospital for other reasons before testing positive for COVID, but they still place an added burden on hospital staff as they require special infection- control measures. Ferrer said Thursday roughly 40% of patients with the virus were admitted for COVID illness, while 60% were admitted for other reasons.

She also said that given the current rate of increase in hospitalizations, Los Angeles County is on pace to reach the "high" virus activity level by next week, which could equate to another universal indoor mask-wearing mandate by the end of the month.

The county is currently in the "medium" virus activity level, as defined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It will reach the "high" category if the seven-day average of new COVID-related hospital admissions reaches 10 per 100,000 residents.

As of Thursday, the county's admission rate was 8.4 per 100,000 residents. But given the rate of increase over the past two weeks, the county is on pace to reach 10 per 100,000 residents by next Thursday, Ferrer said in an online briefing. She stressed that the estimate is only a projection which could change dramatically based on admission numbers in the coming days.

If the county remains at that high level for two consecutive weeks, it will re-impose a mandatory indoor mask-wearing mandate. Under the current schedule, that would happen on July 29.

"Fortunately, we have sensible steps we all can take to reduce this increased risk without forgoing the activities we love. We can wear masks when indoors, test before gathering, and stay home and away from others if we are sick or have tested positive. To reduce stress on the health care system and prevent the worst outcomes of COVID, we can also get vaccinated and boosted, and help those around us get their vaccinations and boosters."

The number of new cases announced by the county each day is believed to be an undercount due to the prevalence of take-home COVID tests, the results of which are not always reported to the county.

Ferrer clarified on Thursday that the hospital admission rate being relied upon by the county in determining the "high" community level differs from the one being reported weekly by the CDC. She said the CDC figure relating to hospital admission rates actually combines Los Angeles and Orange counties, and Orange County has a substantially higher admission rate than Los Angeles.

The CDC website on Thursday showed both Los Angeles and Orange counties with a COVID hospital admission rate of 9.7 per 100,000 residents, putting both on the precipice of entering the "high" virus activity level. Taken separately, however, Los Angeles' rate is only 8.4 per 100,000, while Orange County's is 13.3 per 100,000, Ferrer said.

Los Angeles County will be relying on its separate local rate when determining when the two-week clock will begin ticking on a universal indoor mask-wearing mandate.

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