4,454 New Positive Cases and 5 New Deaths Due to COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

LOS ANGELES, CA, Jun 1 (AMTV) – As the school year comes to a close, cases continue to increase, a reflection of continued high rates of transmission across the county. Families and schools are encouraged to use all safety measures including vaccines, testing before events, and masking indoors to avoid missing end-of-school year events, such as graduations.

The number of cases among students and staff doubled in one month, likely reflecting, in part, transmission associated with end-of-the-year and holiday gatherings. For the week ending May 22, there were 7,299 cases in schools across the county, of which 5,834 were among students and 1,465 among staff. A month prior, for the week ending April 24, there were 3,626 cases, of which 2,896 were among students and 730 among staff.

School-associated outbreaks remained relatively stable this past month. For the week ending, May 28, there were 17 reported outbreaks (seven in elementary schools, five in middle schools, four in high schools and one in a day camp).

The case rate for children ages 5-17 in LA County has increased two and a half times to 648 new cases per 100,000 children on May 28. One month ago, on April 28, the case rate for children ages 5-17 was 259. The hospitalization rate for children ages 5-17 has remained stable from one month ago with about one hospitalization among children ages 5-17 per 100,000 children.

The increase in cases creates risk of new or ongoing health problems for those infected. While most children experience mild illness, there is no way to know in advance how children will be affected by COVID-19, or if they will later develop multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) a serious condition that follows a recent infection with COVID where different body organs can become inflamed. To date, 311 children have been diagnosed in LA County with MIS-C.

Testing is an important tool that can be effectively used to prevent or slow transmission at schools and among children by early identification of asymptomatic infected individuals. Nearly 580,000 over-the-counter (OTC) test kits ordered from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are being distributed to LA County schools and camps to support testing for the end of the school year, summer school, and summer camps.

Schools district administrators can get connected to resources and order test kits by contacting acdc-education@ph.lacounty.gov to request OTC test kits for end-of-school year and summer school testing needs.

“I send my deepest sympathies and wishes of peace and comfort to the many families who have lost a loved one from COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “As we near the end of the school year, we should take advantage of sensible strategies that allow us to gather and celebrate safely. Testing before gathering indoors with others is one such strategy. Over-the-counter tests are being distributed through many County schools, and we encourage families to take advantage of these free tests, especially if there are unvaccinated or high-risk family members. Let’s celebrate the accomplishments of our students without jeopardizing the health of those most vulnerable.”

Today, Public Health reported five additional deaths and 4,454 new positive cases. Of the five new deaths reported today, four were among people aged 80 years or older. For information on the one death reported by the City of Long Beach, visit longbeach.gov. Of the five newly reported deaths, four people had underlying health conditions. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 32,136.

Public Health has reported a total of 2,980,708 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Today’s positivity rate is 4.7%.

There are 502 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 12,020,634 individuals, with 22% of people testing positive.