LOS ANGELES, CA, Aug 16 – Today, Public Health reported 13 additional deaths and 2,535 new positive cases. Of the 13 new deaths reported today, one person was between the ages of 18-29, one person was between the ages of 30-49, three people were between the ages of 50-64, four people were between the ages of 65-79, and four people were aged 80 years or older. Of the 13 newly reported deaths, 11 had underlying health conditions. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 32,961.
Public Health has reported a total of 3,363,706 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Today’s positivity rate is 10.4%.
There are 1,022 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 12,407,063 individuals, with 24% of people testing positive.
While COVID-19 case rates are declining and LA County entered the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) medium community level, knowing your health status remains key to slowing the spread in schools, workplaces, and homes.
Residents should get tested when: they have been exposed, have symptoms, before and after gatherings, and when they travel. Residents who test positive, even with an at-home test, need to isolate to avoid infecting others. Residents who test negative but have symptoms should remain home and test again in 24-48 hours to be sure they aren’t infected.
If a test is still negative, but a person remains ill, they may have another virus/illness. Anyone with symptoms should remain home until they are fever free, and symptoms are resolving. Individuals should call their provider if they have concerns about their illness. If an individual does not have a provider, they can call 2-1-1 to get connected to care.
Free over-the-counter (OTC) tests can be picked up at Department of Public Health vaccination sites and at a variety of locations and partners. Currently, free OTC tests are being distributed at the seven Public Health PODs.
To date, 18,816,372 at-home OTC tests have been distributed county-wide by Public Health, the California Department of Public Health, and the CDC, with many test kits distributed by schools and community partners in communities hard hit by the pandemic. Last week, Public Health distributed 313,780 test kits to partners across numerous sectors, including, but not limited to, 216,000 tests to skilled nursing facilities, 34,000 to community clinics and pharmacies, 19,000 to LA County libraries, 12,600 to early childhood education locations, and 10,000 to community-based organizations.
As schools reopen, 62 public school districts, plus 203 private and charter schools have testing programs in place. Other K-12 schools who need support with their testing capacity can reach out to Public Health at ACDC-Education@ph.lacounty.gov.
There are many FDA-approved rapid OTC tests that can be used for self-testing at home, at a business, or at other community settings. These OTC antigen tests provide results in a few minutes, as opposed to laboratory-based PCR tests that may take several days to process.
Additionally, at-home tests can be ordered at no charge from the federal government at www.covidtests.gov. Residents who have health insurance can receive eight free at-home tests each month for each insured member in their household.
If you purchase an OTC test from a pharmacy, store, or online retailer and are charged for your test, keep your receipt, and submit a claim to your insurance company for reimbursement.
Individuals with any questions should talk with their health care provider to make sure they understand their viral test results and any next steps. Those without easy access to a health care provider who have questions about their test result and what to do next, can call the Public Health COVID-19 information line at 1-833-540-0473, seven days a week, 8:00 am to 8:30 pm.
“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. “During this time of elevated community transmission, testing when appropriate can help slow the spread by identifying those individuals who are infected in a timely way so they can limit exposing others to the virus. We are hoping that all school children are testing either before going back to school or in the first week of school to avoid unnecessary spread on school campuses. Students participating in certain extracurricular activities that are associated with elevated risk of viral spread, including medium and high contact indoor sports and indoor performing arts, may want to test weekly during times of elevated transmission, to reduce viral spread. Those returning from travel may also want to test themselves before heading to work, or out in the community, to be sure they didn’t bring back the virus along with their great vacation memories. And those gathering indoors should also test before getting together, particularly if gathering with others at high risk for severe illness should they become infected. Taking sensible steps to reduce risk for others benefits everyone as it diminishes the disruptions and heartache associated with COVID-19.”
SACRAMENTO, Oct 13 – Senator María Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles) announced today that Governor Gavin…
10月13日洛杉矶报道，洛杉矶圣盖博谷及周边地区多位民选官员今天联合举行新闻发布会，严正指出第50号提案可能对亚裔社群造成的重大不利影响。出席发布会的华裔及亚太裔民选官员包括圣盖博市副市长陈履正，亚凯迪亚前市长、现任市议员郑博仁，以及天普市市议员陈祥甯等，他们共同发出警告，呼吁选民关注提案内容并行使投票权。 几位华裔民选官员认为，第50号提案拟废除由独立公民选区重划委员会制定、经选民批准的现行美国国会选区地图，改由加州萨克拉门托政客在缺乏透明度的程式下重新划分。该改变不仅可能破坏选区划分的公正性，还将严重分散南加州亚裔社群的政治力量，削弱其代表性与影响力。 亚凯迪亚市议员郑博仁表示，反对将选区划分权力从独立委员会交还给政客，认为这是对民主程序和亚裔社群投票权利的侵害，并指出第50号提案拟定的选区地图，将圣盖博谷东部和罗兰岗等亚裔聚居区被划分为三个选区，稀释了亚裔选民的投票影响力，分散亚裔选民的声音。 几位华裔民选及西裔民选官员还认为，蒙特克莱市等拉丁裔社区也被分割，影响其社区完整性。第50号提案将损害少数族裔代表性，让国会议员保护自己的职位。 蒙特克莱市议员洛佩兹表示，这是史无前例的不公。例如萨克拉门托的莱蒙山、弗洛林和派克威等亚裔社区，将被拆分并纳入向东延伸至太浩湖的广阔选区；圣地牙哥的米拉梅萨和佩纳斯基托斯地区也面临社群分裂问题。 这些民选官员在发布会上呼吁选民反对第50号提案，维护独立公民选区重划委员会的公正透明，反对不公选区划分，保护民主权利和社区利益。 https://youtu.be/7SxeydVPM64
10月13日特拉维夫报道，在哈马斯今天释放所有幸存的人质与家人今天团聚后，美国总统特朗普在以色列议会向以色列议员发表讲话，称赞以色列和哈马斯签署和平协议实现停火为“新中东的历史性曙光”。 特朗普总统在长达一小时的讲话中，宣布中东新纪元的开启以及以色列和平的到来，赢得了以色列议会议员们的多次起立鼓掌。 特朗普总统称这是“一个辉煌的时刻”，并告诉以色列议会：“几代人以后，这一刻将被铭记，因为一切都开始改变，而且是朝着更好的方向发展，就像现在的美国一样，这将是以色列的黄金时代，也是中东的黄金时代。” 今天凌晨，哈马斯释放的人质抵达加沙红十字会，随后被送往以色列与家人团聚。此时距离哈马斯于2023年10月7日袭击以色列已过去两年多。 特朗普总统表示：“在经历了两年痛苦的黑暗和囚禁之后，20名勇敢的人质终于回到了家人的光荣怀抱，这真是太光荣了。又有28位挚爱的亲人终于回家，在这片神圣的土地上长眠。在经历了这么多年不间断的战争和无尽的危险之后，今天，天空平静，枪声沉寂，警笛停鸣，太阳照耀着这片终于恢复和平的圣地。如果上帝保佑，这片土地和这片地区将永远和平共处。” 特朗普总统在特别赞扬中东问题特使维特科夫（Steve Witkoff）时表示，维特科夫身处谈判最前线，对达成各方都能签署的协议发挥了关键作用。特朗普还称赞了在加入特朗普政府之前房地产开发商维特科夫的谈判技巧。 特朗普称赞维特科夫的成功源于他受人喜爱时，以色列议会大厅爆发出热烈的掌声，为维特科夫喝彩。
11月13日德州奥斯汀报道，亿万富豪马斯克的太空探索技术公司（SpaceX）今天第 11 次发射了其巨坠超重型星际飞船火箭，标志着在前几次发射的基础上，又一次成功试飞。 SpaceX创始人兼首席执行官马斯克今天在发射前短暂出现在公司直播中，表示这是他第一次在户外观看火箭发射。 马斯克在直播中说：“通常我都在任务控制中心之类的地方，这次的体验真的会更加震撼人心。” 今天是太空探索技术公司的全尺寸星际飞船第11次试飞，马斯克打算将用它把宇航员送上火星。美国宇航局（NASA）的需求则更为迫切。如果没有该艘403英尺长的星际飞船，美国宇航局就无法在10年内将宇航员送上月球。星际飞船是一种可重复使用的飞行器，旨在将宇航员从月球轨道送入月球表面并返回。 太空探索技术公司今年8月份的上一次试飞，在经历了一系列爆炸故障后最终成功，也遵循了类似的路径，实现了类似的目标。此次试飞增加了更多机动性，尤其是针对航天器。该公司公司计划在航天器进入印度洋上空时进行一系列测试，为未来返回发射场着陆做准备。 与以往一样，该艘星际飞船搭载了8颗模拟卫星，模拟该公司的星链（Starlinks）卫星。整个飞行计划持续一个多小时，从墨西哥边境附近的星际基地发射。 此外，太空探索技术公司还正在改造其卡纳维拉尔角发射场，以容纳星际飞船，以及用于为美国宇航局运送宇航员和物资到国际空间站的小型猎鹰火箭。
10月12日华盛顿报道，美国总统特朗普今天下午乘坐空军一号总统专机从华盛顿前往以色列，将亲自迎接被哈马斯释放的关押人质。 特朗普总统在登机前对媒体表示：“这将是一个非常特殊的时刻……每个人都会同时欢呼。这是前所未有的……我很荣幸能够参与其中——我们将会度过一段美好的时光。” 此前，美国副总统万斯（JD Vance）表示，美国总统特朗普计划在恐怖组织哈马斯从加沙释放以色列人质后“亲自”迎接他们。特朗普今天下午乘机飞往以色列。 此外，万斯证实了哈马斯扣押20名人质，并表示人质“随时可能”被释放。 万斯表示，特朗普总统计划在中东时间10月13日早上迎接人质，也就是美国时间的10月12日深夜或10月13日凌晨。 人质释放计划是在以色列政府批准与哈马斯达成第一阶段和平协议几天后进行的。哈马斯于2023年10月7日从加沙袭击以色列，劫持了约250名人质，引发了以色列的持续两年的大规模报复战争，几乎摧毁了巴勒斯坦领土加沙。 万斯称赞人质获释“意义非凡”，“当然，这对他们的家人来说很棒，但我确实认为，这表明，当你走出传统的失败的外交途径，真正尝试一些新的方式时，会发生什么。” 万斯在表示不认为以色列能够从哈马斯手中接回全部人质遗体时说：“我认为我们最终会接回大部分遗体，但不会接回全部。”