LA County Continues to See Declining COVID-19 Rates; Expands Indoor Activities
As of last Monday, LA County entered Tier 2 of the State’s Blueprint. This change allowed the County to reopen several sectors, including limited indoor dining and expanded indoor retail and entertainment activities.
The County continued to experience declines in COVID-19 rates last week. As of Tuesday, March 16, 2021, the County's adjusted case rate dropped from 5.2 new cases per 100,000 people to 4.1 new cases per 100,000 people. The test positivity rate dropped from 2.5% to 2.0%.
In a press release issued on Tuesday, March 16, 2021, the LA County Department of Public Health noted that if current declines in the case rate hold, “it is possible in early April for the County to move into the orange tier” of the state’s Blueprint. This would permit additional reopenings.
However, the daily test positivity rate increased on two days last week, and there was a one-day increase in daily hospitalizations on Thursday, March 18. The small rise in hospitalizations was the first since hospitalizations began to decline from the peak on January 8, 2021, and coincided with the third consecutive day of increased reported deaths. These increases provide cause for continued caution as the County reopens additional sectors.
Vaccinations
As of Friday, March 19, 2021, the County reported administering 3,234,989 total vaccine doses: 2,177,195 first doses and 1,057,794 second doses. This means that more than 10% of eligible County residents (over age 16) have been fully vaccinated.
This week, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) is expecting to receive 280,000 vaccine doses. This allocation includes approximately 6,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The County expects to receive more Johnson & Johnson vaccine at the end of the month.