Los Angeles County continues to see a downward trend in the number of coronavirus infections
Los Angeles County’s coronavirus case rate has dropped below 200 per 100,000 residents over a two-week span, a threshold that could allow waivers for some elementary schools to reopen.
Although the county remains on the state’s COVID-19 watch list, which monitors for surges in infections and hospitalizations — and it will be removed only if cases fall below 100 per 100,000 residents, among other criteria — the number of overall cases in the county continues to decline on a weekly basis. The 14-day average infection rate in L.A. County is currently 197.5 per 100,000 people, according to the California Department of Public Health.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced in July that any county on the monitoring list cannot open K-12 schools for in-person classes, including all public, private, charter and faith-based schools. But the governor allowed for public school districts as well as charter and private schools to apply through their local health agency for a waiver to reopen school for grades K-6 only.
L.A. County health officials , where the case rate is well above that, have said they will not issue waivers but will reconsider their decision once the number falls to an acceptable level. The county has not yet said what its timeline is for the waiver process.
L.A. County officials previously said that waiver applications could be distributed to schools — and then sent to state officials for review — once the county met the reduced transmission threshold. Robust safety plans must also be approved, and the county must maintain reduced case counts for 14 days before waivers can be considered.
“Dr. [Barbara] Ferrer and her entire team has been thinking about this closely,” Health and Human Services Director Dr. Mark Ghaly said Tuesday of the L.A. County public health director in connection with the county’s plans for school waivers.
“These decisions will only be made when together, a school district, as well as parents and children and other local community groups, come together with the commitment from the local health officer to track transmission closely.”
Health officials in L.A. County, where the case rate is well above that, have said they will not issue waivers but will reconsider their decision once the number falls to an acceptable level. The county has not yet said what its timeline is for the waiver process.
Last week, the Orange County Health Care Agency announced that several schools were approved for in-person classes after the county’s infection rate dropped. The OK came shortly before Orange County was removed from the state’s watch list. If a county remains off the state list for 14 days, all schools are permitted to reopen.
More counties have been removed from the state’s monitoring list as California continues to see a plateau in COVID-19 cases and a drop in hospitalizations.
The seven-day average for positive infections is currently 5.7%, Ghaly said Tuesday. That is below the country’s overall average, which according to Johns Hopkins University is currently 6.1%.
Last week, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield said that he expected the mortality rate across the nation to drop as cases have declined. In an interview with the Journal of the American Medical Assn., Redfield attributed the progress to business closures and social distancing practices.
“I think I’ve seen pretty strong data that the mitigation steps that we advocated — something as simple as a face mask, social distancing, washing your hands, closing bars and having limited indoor dining at restaurants,” have helped control the pandemic, he said.
The state plans to release new guidance on reopenings this week, Ghaly said.
As massive fires force tens of thousands to evacuate, and as Labor Day approaches, Ghaly stressed the need for residents to avoid congregating with people outside their households and to maintain social distancing practices in order to keep transmission rates low.
