LOS ANGELES, Calif.- On Saturday, September 11 and Sunday, September 12, Public Health will make improvements to the data processing systems which will result in no new data being reported on those days. Neither the collection of this data nor outbreak investigations will be affected by this pause in reporting; however, no press releases will be issued during this system’s upgrade.
While case rates increased among children in all age groups between mid-July and mid-August, cases have declined by about 30% in all age groups among children (0-4, 5-11, and 12-17 years old) over the past two weeks. The decrease is similar to the decreases we are seeing in cases among adult residents and occurred as many schools reopened with testing, masking, infection control and outbreak management protocols in place. Over the past week, children under 18 comprised, on average, 27% of all cases seen in L.A. County.
Among L.A. County teens 12 to 17 years old, more than half of whom are vaccinated, we see just how powerfully protective the vaccines really are. As of August 28, the case rate among unvaccinated 12 to 17-year-olds was 424 cases among every 100,000 unvaccinated children in this age group compared with 51 cases among 100,000 of those vaccinated. Among groups ineligible for vaccination, the case rate was 130 per 100,000 children aged 0 to 4, and 230 per 100,000 children aged 5 to 11.
As of September 5, 62% of L.A. County residents 12 to 15 years old received at least one dose of vaccine, while 51% were fully vaccinated. Sixty-nine percent of residents 16 to 17 years old received at least one dose, and 59% were fully vaccinated.
In K-12 school settings countywide, between August 15 and September 7, 7,784 student cases and 1,250 staff cases were reported, with the vast majority occurring at LAUSD, which tests everyone weekly. The second highest number of cases came from other K-12 schools in L.A. County. With more than 1.5 million students and 175,000 staff countywide (by last year’s counts), 0.5% of the student body and 0.7% of staff have become infected since school districts reopened. This is slightly higher than the 0.4% rate of infection experienced overall in the County.
Many school sites (1,032 schools) are now reporting three or more cases. Five hundred and seventy school sites reported one case and 260 school sites reported two cases. As these numbers are cumulative, it is not surprising to see cases accumulate in schools. Every case identified at a school needs to isolate at home away from others for 10 days from their symptom onset or test date. Their close contacts are identified and, if unvaccinated, they are required to quarantine.
Public Health investigated eight outbreaks during the week of August 22 and six last week, with most outbreaks now taking place in elementary schools. The small number of confirmed outbreaks is very low and a positive sign that mitigation efforts may be very effective at reducing transmission. Nonetheless, we anticipate an upward trend in outbreaks as more schools are open.
Today, Public Health confirms 49 new deaths and 2,218 new cases of COVID-19. The number of new cases reported today is an undercount due to missing test results from one lab. Of the 49 new deaths reported today, 13 people who passed away were over the age of 80, 13 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, 15 people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, and seven people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49. One death was reported by the City of Long Beach. To date, Public Health identified 1,425,806 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 25,563 deaths.
There are 1,385 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 30% of these people are in the ICU. This is a decrease of 288 daily hospitalizations in one week.
Testing results are available for nearly 8,300,000 individuals with 16% of people testing positive. Today’s test positivity rate is 3.4%.
“To everyone who has lost a friend or loved one to COVID-19, we send you our deepest condolences,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “We support the actions taken by the Los Angeles Unified School District and other schools and school districts to add an additional layer of protection at schools through a sensible school vaccine requirement for eligible students. Vaccination remains one of the quickest and most powerful ways to decrease community transmission and prevent serious illness, which helps keep students, teachers, and staff in school, and the COVID-19 vaccines have proven to be safe and effective. Public Health will continue to work closely with school districts as they take critical actions to protect students and staff from a dangerous and highly infectious virus.”
Public Health is encouraging students and parents eager to have more information about COVID-19 and to help educate others in their communities about COVID-19 on how to create safety at school and at home, to join the Parent and Student Ambassador Programs. Parents and students who sign up will receive free training from L.A. County educators on COVID-19, support for school-based activities, and a certificate of completion at the end of the program. Orientation for the parent program will take place on September 15, 2021 from 5:30 p.m.- 7:30 p.m., and Public Health is accepting registrations on a rolling basis. So far, 120 parents have signed up, representing roughly 98 different schools ranging from preschool to high school. Public Health is also enrolling students for an upcoming student ambassador program orientation. More information including how to sign up for parents and students is available online or you can email TK12ambassador@ph.lacounty.gov.
Public Health has a new feature on its interactive vaccine website, VaccinateLAcounty.com, that allows people to look at the proportion of school aged residents who are vaccinated by school district. Public Health will be rolling out a school data dashboard later this month that will enable residents to easily see daily counts of cases and contacts at any school in the county.
Anyone 12 and older living or working in L.A. County can get vaccinated against COVID-19. Many vaccination sites across the county, including all the County-run sites, are also offering third doses of vaccine to eligible immunocompromised people. Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status.
Visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish) to find a vaccination site near you, make an appointment at vaccination sites, and much more. If you don’t have internet access, can’t use a computer, or you’re over 65, you can call 1-833-540-0473 for help finding an appointment, connecting to free transportation to and from a vaccination site, or scheduling a home-visit if you are homebound.
COVID-19 Sector Protocols, Best Practices, COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard, COVID-19 Surveillance Interactive Dashboard, Recovery Dashboard, and additional actions you can take to protect yourself, your family and your community are on the Public Health website, www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.
8月8日华盛顿讯，美国参议院今天凌晨投票确认托德·布兰奇（Todd Blanche）出任美国司法部长，这位特朗普总统的前辩护律师正式成为美国最高执法官员。投票结束后不久后，布兰奇在社交媒体上发文表示“我深感荣幸，特朗普总统对我的信任和信心让我领导司法部”。 美国参议院以50比49的微弱优势确认了对布兰奇的认命。有2名共和党参议员，缅因州的苏珊·柯林斯（Susan Collins）和阿拉斯加州的丽莎·穆尔科斯基（Lisa Murkowski）与所有民主党人一起投了反对票。 此前，路易斯安那州共和党参议员比尔·卡西迪（Bill Cassidy）于8月7日宣布支持布兰奇的提名，这为布兰奇的提名扫清了障碍。由于柯林斯和穆尔科斯基的反对，以及肯塔基州共和党参议员米奇·麦康奈尔（Mitch McConnell）的缺席投票，所以卡西迪的投票起到了决定性的关键作用。 布兰奇加入特朗普总统第二届政府时担任副司法部长，并在帕姆·邦迪（Pam Bondi）于4月被免职后被任命为代理司法部长。特朗普总统于6月宣布，他已选择布兰奇正式领导美国司法部。 但布兰奇的任命过程充满挫折，民主党人和一些共和党人对美国司法部设立的18亿美元“反武器化”基金提出异议。该基金旨在向声称受到联邦政府不公正对待的人提供赔偿。这项计划是美国司法部5月与特朗普总统达成的和解协议的一部分，旨在解决特朗普总统就其纳税申报表被前政府承包商泄露一事对美国国税局提起的100亿美元民事诉讼。 美国参议员们还反对和解协议中的第二项条款，该条款赋予特朗普总统、他的家人和他的企业广泛的豁免权，使其免于税务审计和调查。 在今年6月美国参议院司法委员会的确认听证会上，布兰奇曾告诉参议员们，“反武器化”基金已经“夭折”，并重申，由于该基金设立之初就遭到议员们的强烈反对，美国司法部“不会继续推进”该项目。但布兰奇却仍然面临着该委员会中两位关键共和党成员，来自德克萨斯州的参议员约翰·科宁（John Cornyn）参议员和来自北卡罗来纳州的参议员汤姆·蒂利斯（Thom Tillis）的质疑。…
8月7日华盛顿讯，美国多家媒体报道称，美国情报机构近期有评估显示，俄罗斯可能越来越倾向采取挑衅行动，这些行动甚至可能波及北约（NATO）领土。 据知情美国情报官员透露，俄罗斯的行动可能包括混合行动、网络攻击以及其他不属于常规军事行动的、可否认的措施。美国情报机构评估反映出对俄罗斯的风险评估，与几个月前相比发生了变化，俄罗斯的目标可能并非引发更大规模的冲突，而是试探北约的团结，以及特朗普政府应对针对北约盟国的袭击的意愿。 这些美国情报官员们还声称，美国情报机构评估认为，本周早些时候在德国莱比锡机场发现的一架装载爆炸物的无人机来自俄罗斯。俄罗斯一系列其他行动加剧了人们的担忧，包括无人机入侵罗马尼亚、上个月一枚导弹越境进入波兰，以及疑似破坏、网络行动和其他混合战术在欧洲范围内的大规模增加。 北约秘书长马克·吕特（Mark Rutte）和其他欧洲领导人长期以来一直公开表示，俄罗斯正在扩大其混合战术的使用。吕特去年12月警告称：“我们是俄罗斯的下一个目标，我们已经身处险境。”吕特还补充说，莫斯科可能在“ 5年内”准备好对北约动用武力。 美国中央情报局（CIA）局长约翰·拉特克利夫（John Ratcliffe）上个月在一个国防论坛上声称，美国情报与公开的战场估计相符，即新抵达的俄罗斯士兵平均只能存活20到30分钟，之后便会阵亡或受伤，这主要是由于乌克兰使用了人工智能驱动的攻击无人机。 美国情报官员称，美国方面的评估称，俄罗斯在乌克兰战场上遭受了巨大损失。俄罗斯每月损失约3万名士兵，即每周损失5000至7000人——这一损失速度超过了其新兵招募速度。 与此同时，美国为结束这场战争所做的外交努力陷入停滞，重启谈判的前景不明朗。特朗普总统在美国大选中曾承诺第二任期宣誓就职24小时内即可结束俄乌战争，后来又誓言延迟在100天内结束俄乌战争，但至今并未兑现。 美国中央情报局和北约目前未就有关报道做出任何回应及置评。
8月7日迈阿密讯，隶属于餐饮品牌国际公司 (RBI）的连锁餐厅汉堡王（Burger King ）8月6日公布，其美国同店销售额连续5个季度增长，今年第二季度增长8.5%，现已超越温蒂汉堡（Wendy’s），成为美国第二大汉堡连锁店。而汉王堡自6年前被竞争对手温蒂汉堡超越后，终于重新夺回了排名第二的宝座。 根据温蒂汉堡公司今天公布的最新季度财报显示，其美国同店销售额下降了7%，已连续6个季度下滑。 温蒂汉堡今年5月刚上任首席执行官的鲍勃·赖特（Bob Wright）今天在该公司财报电话会议上表示：“我们的质量差异化优势已经减弱，我们的价值主张也已落空，我们未能始终如一地提供顾客期望从温蒂汉堡获得的体验，这些问题影响了客流量，给餐厅的经济模式带来了压力，而餐厅的经济模式正是这家企业的命脉所在，这一点也反映在我们最新的业绩报告中。” 该排名变化源于汉堡王和温蒂汉堡过去2年业绩的分化。与此同时，麦当劳（McDonald’s）则仍然继续保持其排名第一的汉堡连锁店的地位，并保持着显著的领先优势。 据总部位于伦敦的巴克莱银行（Barclays）预测，到2024年，麦当劳将占据美国汉堡市场约48%的份额。相比之下，届时温蒂汉堡的市场份额为11.4%，而汉堡王则为10%。 温蒂汉堡最初凭借其在全美范围内成功推出的早餐超越了汉堡王。但保持第二名的位置并非易事。温蒂汉堡和汉堡王都不得不曾因为应对新冠疫情及其引发的供应链问题，这些问题导致了食品成本飙升。随后，美国消费者对不断上涨的菜单价格的抵制，以及餐饮支出的减少也接踵而至。 2022年底，汉堡王母公司餐饮品牌公司宣布了一项针对汉堡王美国业务的扭亏为盈计划，此前汉堡王的销售业绩在一年内表现平平。该战略的重点在于提升食品质量、加大市场营销投入以及翻新餐厅。 在汉堡王努力重振旗鼓的同时，温蒂汉堡却面临着首席执行官频繁更迭的困境。而此时，美国消费者对性价比的追求日益高涨，牛肉价格也飞涨。 2024年，温蒂汉堡的长期首席执行官托德·佩内戈尔（Todd Penegor）在任职8年后退休。百事可乐（Pepsi）高管柯克·坦纳（Kirk Tanner）接任，但一年多后便离职，转而执掌北美最大的巧克力公司好时（Hershey’s），由温蒂汉堡首席财务官肯·库克（Ken…
8月7日华盛顿讯，美国总统特朗普计划今天宣布一项超过1.8亿美元的拨款计划，旨在促进美国采矿业的教育和贸易项目，以提升关键矿产的产量。 一位白宫官员表示，特朗普总统将在美国国务院举行的圆桌会议上公布这项计划，与会者包括科罗拉多矿业学院等高校的教育界领袖。美国国务卿马可·卢比奥（Marco Rubio)、内政部长道格·伯古姆（Doug Burgum）和商务部长霍华德·卢特尼克（Howard Lutnick）也计划出席。 美国能源部正在启动一项1亿美元的拨款计划，旨在通过在未来2年内大幅增加美国采矿和关键矿产相关领域的毕业生人数，来扩大该行业的劳动力队伍。一位官员表示，该计划预计将为奖学金和其他项目提供资金支持。美国大学、社区学院、职业学校、行业团体和其他合作伙伴均可申请。 此外，美国军方还将向3所大学提供超过8000万美元的额外资金。科罗拉多矿业学院（Colorado School of Mines）预计将获得3270万美元用于建设技术发展中心，南达科他矿业学院（South Dakota School of Mines）将获得2500万美元用于设立劳动力发展项目，约翰·霍普金斯大学（Johns Hopkins…
8月6日华盛顿讯，已入院救治长达2个多月的肯塔基州共和党参议员米奇·麦康奈尔（Mitch McConnell）今天表示，他已从医院出院，此前他自6月14日突然入院救治近两个月，并有传言称他已经脑死亡。 现年84岁高龄的麦康奈尔在一份声明中称：“今天早些时候，我从康复中心出院，回家继续康复。” 但该声明并没有说明麦康奈尔预计何时返回美国参议院。 麦康奈尔在声明中还称：“根据医生的建议，在议会工作期间，我将在家进行高强度的物理治疗，并将继续与我的工作人员和同事们一起处理重要的参议院事务。” 麦康奈尔近年来多次在公共场所发生健康状况，他自6月入院救治期间，他及其幕僚很少谈及他的健康状况，引发外界对其病情的广泛猜测，甚至有传言他已经脑死亡，依靠机器维持生命。直至7月12日，麦康奈尔办公室才对外发表声明称，他因摔倒入院，之后被转至医院救治。 麦康奈尔当时在一份声明中称：“我的医生已经确认我没有骨折，也没有脑震荡。我没有心脏病发作，也没有中风。我没有任何肿瘤或出血。但我确实短暂失去意识，并被送往医院。在过去几周里，我得到了很好的治疗，但同时也患上了轻微的肺炎。” 麦康奈尔主治医师办公室也在一份声明中称，麦康奈尔受了“轻伤”，但他“没有骨折、心脏异常、中风、肿瘤或出血”。 7月27日，麦康奈尔主治医师办公室在一份新的声明中对外解释，麦康奈尔正在接受“严格的”物理治疗，以降低跌倒的风险。该声明还解释说，“他童年时期患的小儿麻痹症仍然是影响他行动能力的一个重要因素。”
8月6日德州沃斯堡讯，美国航空公司（American Airlines）宣布，自8月25日起，将停止在美国境内航班，包括部分跨大陆和夏威夷航线的精英常旅客提供经济舱升为商务舱的升舱服务，但将有机会免费升舱至高端经济舱。 此举将使该航空公司的精英常旅客，不得不告别部分长途国内航线上的免费经济舱升舱至商务舱的福利。 此变化再次表明，美国航空公司和其他航空公司正努力减少高价座位的免费赠送，以增加收入和利润。随着越来越多的乘客选择购买价格更高、空间更宽敞的座位，许多航班的升舱难度也随之增加。 此次将免费升舱至高端经济舱的航线包括：纽约肯尼迪国际机场至洛杉矶；波士顿至旧金山；达拉斯-沃斯堡国际机场至夏威夷檀香山、科纳和毛伊岛；凤凰城至檀香山；以及芝加哥奥黑尔国际机场至檀香山和毛伊岛。 总部位于德克萨斯州沃斯堡的美国航空公司表示，购买了高级经济舱机票，或在购买经济舱机票后升舱的精英会员仍可享受免费升舱。 美国航空公司还表示：“我们将尽力满足您的座位偏好，但具体选择可能因机型和座位供应情况而异。高级经济舱的部分机型包含中间座位，因此如果其他座位已满，您可能会被安排在中间座位。”，