Courtesy photo by Trust “Tru” Katsande on Unsplash The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has identified one case of the South African variant, B.1.351, and three cases of the Brazilian P.1 variant, both variants of concern, officials said Wednesday. “The CDC has classified the South Africa and Brazil variants as variants of concern, because they’re potentially associated with increased transmissibility and reduced,” L.A. County, Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer explained. Although these are the first reported cases of the South African and Brazilian variants in the county, F ..read more

L.A. County Office of Education in Downey vaccine site on Jan. 20, 2021. | Photo courtesy of L.A. County The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health announced new sectors that are now eligible for COVID-19 vaccines. As of Monday, workers in food and agriculture, education and childcare, and emergency services will be able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The following sectors are eligible for vaccination starting Monday, March 1st: — Food and agriculture Food service workers. Food manufacturing. Grocery store workers. Grocery store workers (without pharmacies). Animal agriculture work ..read more

The death rate is the number of deaths from COVID-19 per 100,000 population in each race/ethnicity group. Latinos and African Americans are experiencing a disproportionate rate of deaths from COVID-19. | Graph courtesy of L.A. County Department of Public Health In Los Angeles County, as in the rest of the nation, people living in low-income neighborhoods and people of color have been disproportionally affected by COVID-19 throughout the pandemic. And while cases and deaths are dropping overall in the county, there remains a large gap between Latinx residents and other groups. When the surge b ..read more

The three-day average daily number of hospitalizations. | Graph courtesy of L.A. County Public Health For the first time in three months, the daily number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Los Angeles County dropped below 2,000. On Thursday, there were 1,988 people with COVID-19 hospitalized, 30% in the I.C.U. The last time hospitalizations were that low were on Nov. 29 when there were 2,049 hospitalizations reported. “While case and hospitalization numbers have declined, COVID-19 remains widespread and deadly and variant cases are increasing,” said Barbara Ferrer, director of Public He ..read more

Photos courtesy of LASD Investigators for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department are asking for the public’s help locating 28-year-old Shannon Nichole Burns. She was last on Feb. 25, 2021 at 5:15 p.m., on the 9400 block of Las Tunas Drive, in Temple City.       Burns is Hispanic, 5-foot-2, 110 pounds with brown hair, brown eyes, and with a tattoo of “unknown Latin origin” on her back, officials said. Burns was last seen wearing black leggings, a brown shirt, and a blue bra.  She suffers from depression and her family is very concerned for her wellbeing.    Anyone ..read more

Courtesy photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash Following extensive checks of death records, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health identified an additional 806 COVID-19 -associated deaths that were not initially recorded as COVD-19 deaths. “It is heartbreaking to report on this large number of additional deaths associated with COVID-19 and a devastating reminder of the terrible toll the winter surge has taken on so many families across the county,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of Public Health. The majority of these deaths occurred during the winter surge between Dec. 3, 2020 a ..read more

Arcadia County Park. | Photo courtesy of L.A. County Through a motion by Supervisor Kathryn Barger that aims to invest services and programs in Los Angeles County communities, the Board of Supervisors approved the budget restoration of the Department of Parks and Recreation. “After a year of decreased social and physical activity for families across Los Angeles County, our renewed focus on programs, staff, and services at local parks and nature centers provides an opportunity to rejuvenate our residents,” Barger said. “Parks programs are a fundamental part of wellness for our neighborhoods an ..read more

The temporary ordinance requires grocery and drug retail employers to provide an additional $5 per hour, to employees working frontline positions as compensation for the hazards they continue to face during the COVID-19 pandemic. | Photo courtesy of L.A. County On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed a temporary ordinance that requires larger grocers and drug retail stores located in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County to pay their employees no less than $5-per-hour hazard pay in addition to the employee’s base wage. The new temporary “hero pay” ord ..read more

Vaccination site at Cal State L.A. | Photo courtesy of L.A. County The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health says it is working to address persisting racial inequities in vaccine distribution.   The rate of vaccination among white and Asian residents in L.A. County continues to be significantly higher than that among Black/African American and Latino/Latinx residents, according to the Department of Public Health. Black/African Americans have received 5.2% of vaccinations administered, while accounting for 9% of the 16 and older population. Latinx residents received 23% of vaccin ..read more

President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff stand outside the White House on Feb. 22, 2021 during a candle-light ceremony in honor of victims of COVID-19. | Photo courtesy of President Joe Biden via Facebook Biden administration honors, mourns loss of life By Terry Miller The New York Time front headline on May 24, 2020 read “Deaths Near 100,000, An Incalculable Loss” with the entire page devoted to just the names and professions of some of those victims. Now, nine months later, that number has skyrocketed to over half a million de ..read more