February 24, 2022
Today, Public Health confirmed 74 additional deaths and 1,985 new cases of COVID-19
Of the 74 newly reported deaths, 60 had underlying health conditions
Today’s positivity rate is 2.2%
There are 1,150 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized
Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health: “Given the large numbers of schools and students, teachers, and staff who are on school campuses each day, the number of school outbreaks has remained relatively low across the 3,100 school campuses in LA County. When combined with our low positivity rate and rapidly declining cases among students and staff, this suggests that through our collective efforts, schools continue to successfully implement recommended strategies that limit spread – such as screening and response testing, ensuring compliance with isolation and quarantine requirements, and following recommended infection control measures like masking.”
Multiple layers of safety measures within county schools continue to protect students, staff, and their families from COVID-19 according to recent Public Health data.
Between February 14 and 18, over 458,000 tests were administered at K-12 schools across the county with 3,679 positive tests. This resulted in a test positivity of 0.8%, reflecting the lowest level since the return of the school session in January 2022. Furthermore, this represents a marked decline by nearly 95% in test positivity compared to the week ending January 7th when test positivity peaked at 14%.
Moreover, at K-12 schools across the county, the number of active school outbreaks currently being investigated continue to decline to a total of 38, down from 46 the week prior. This includes 13 new outbreaks (seven in elementary schools, three in middle schools, and three in youth sports) between February 13-19. Scientific evidence continues to support the concept of layering multiple protections to keep students and families safe. A Johns Hopkins University 2021 study of more than 2.1 million individuals last year showed that the risk of COVID-related illness in households increased by 38% when a child attends in-person school. However, as layers of school-based safety measures increased (upwards of seven or more measures including student masking), the increased risk went completely away. This shows that masking requirements, combined with multiple layers of school-based protections, can keep families, unvaccinated siblings, and high-risk family members safe from the transmission of the COVID-19 from schools.
Currently, the state requires indoor masking at schools as part of a comprehensive campus safety program. The state is currently reassessing mitigation strategies, including masking, and plans to announce considerations and timeframes for revisiting its school guidance, on February 28. Public Health will review the state’s assessment with plans to consider the county’s metrics and align as closely as possible. Another critical tool is childhood COVID-19 vaccinations. Public Health data shows that unvaccinated children ages 5-11 were two times more likely to be infected when compared to those who were fully vaccinated. For those ages 12-17, unvaccinated teens were almost three times more likely to be infected and nearly five times more likely to be hospitalized when compared to those who were fully vaccinated.