Masks Back On In LA Hospitals As Respiratory Illnesses Surge

Los Angeles County public health officials reinstated a mask requirement at health care facilities as respiratory virus infections — including COVID-19 and the flu — increase.

"Over the past week in Los Angeles County, there have been notable, yet not unexpected, increases in COVID-19 reported cases, hospitalizations and deaths," the L.A. County Department of Public Health said in a press release. "While recent increases are significant, they remain considerably below last winter's peak and common-sense protections are strongly recommended to help curb transmission and severe illness as the new year begins."

An upswing in recent COVID cases have pushed the county into the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “medium” COVID level. The threshold for the medium level is between 10 and 19.9 new COVID hospital admissions per 100,000 population over seven days.

For the week ending Dec. 23, the CDC reported 10.5 new COVID hospital admissions per 100,000 people in L.A. County, a 30% increase from the prior week.

COVID-19 cases rose by more than 25% from 495 in the week ending Dec. 16 to 621 in the week ending Dec. 23. Health officials noted the actual number of cases is likely much higher because many people use at-home kits to test for the virus.

“Sadly, there has also been an appreciable increase in the daily average deaths due to COVID-19,” the health department said, also reporting an average of five deaths due to COVID per day in the last week of December — an increase from two at the beginning of the month.

The public health order issued Dec. 27 will remain in effect until L.A. County drops back into the CDC’s “low” category for two weeks, and applies to health workers and visitors in patient care areas of hospitals, nursing homes, dialysis centers, primary care clinics and other health care facilities.

The order isn’t just aimed at curbing COVID-19 cases.

Influenza is sending hundreds of people to L.A. hospitals. During the week ending Dec. 23, on average 85 Angelenos a day were hospitalized with flu, and more than 10% of emergency department visits in L.A. County were for flu-like symptoms. About 23% of people tested for flu were positive, the highest so far this season.

California has “very high” flu activity, according to the CDC.

Nationally, the CDC estimates that there have been more than seven million illnesses, 73,000 hospitalizations and 4,500 deaths related to the flu this season, and multiple indicators are high and rising.

Respiratory syncytial virus — or RSV — activity is showing signs of slowing in L.A. County, but many measures, including hospitalization rates, remain elevated. About 10% of people tested positive for RSV, just below COVID-19’s positivity rate of 12%. Overall, young children and older adults are most affected.

As seasonal virus activity surges, experts stress the importance of preventative actions such as masking and vaccinations and treatment for those who get sick.

“Stay home if you are sick and test if you have symptoms or were exposed to COVID-19, especially when visiting with people who are more vulnerable to severe illness due to age or underlying health conditions,” L.A. County health officials said in a press release. “Wash your hands often and a well-fitted, high-quality mask can help protect against transmission in crowded indoor spaces, including airports, train stations or places with poor ventilation.”