Nearly 8,100 new COVID-19 cases have been reported in LA County, along with 20 more deaths, but the number of virus patients hospitalized took a sharp downward turn.
level of COVID-19 community activity last week, when the average daily rate of virus-related hospital admissions rose to 10.5 per 100,000 residents, surpassing the threshold of 10 per 100,000. On Thursday, county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said the admission rate over the past week rose to 11.4 per 100,000.
Absent a major reduction in hospital numbers over the next week, the county will likely still be in the"high" category on July 28, triggering a newAlthough dozens of counties in California are also in the"high" virus-activity category, LA is the only one considering a mask mandate. Ferrer again defended the move Thursday, saying the virus is continuing to disproportionately impact Black, Latino and low-income residents, and it is causing severe illness among some patients.
She acknowledged a lack of any formalized enforcement plan, saying the county relies primarily on education in hopes of convincing people to wear face coverings. She also said the county does not expect business owners to become enforcement agents. "We rely heavily on people understanding why it's important for us to add in this layer of protection at this point, and most people in the past have gone ahead and been compliant,'' she said."We'll continue to work with everyone and make sure there's good information."
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