As COVID cases increase, the City of West Hollywood is getting the word out that the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has issued a COVID-19 update urging residents to get vaccinated and boosted to provide protection against the more infectious subvariants and sub-lineages of COVID-19. Staying up-to-date with vaccinations continues to provide protection against more infectious subvariants and sub-lineages.
The City also reminds the community that mask-wearing continues to be a simple and highly effective way to reduce risk of infection.
According to LA County Public Health: For the week ending April 16, Omicron accounted for 100% of genetically sequenced cases, with BA.2 lineage and sub-lineages accounting for 96% of that total. While BA.2 is among the most infectious mutations of COVID-19 to date, the CDC estimates that the new sub-lineage BA.2.12.1 may be 25% more transmissible than BA.2. In Los Angeles County, for the week ending April 16, 8% of positive sequenced specimens were identified as BA.2.12.1.
With these highly infectious subvariants and sub-lineages in circulation, cases are increasing in LA County. The average number of daily new cases reported over the last seven days increased to 2,532 compared to the 905 reported one month ago, an increase of 180%.
To date, the increases in COVID cases have not translated to increases in severe illness, with hospitalizations and deaths remaining low and decreasing. Over the last seven days, the average number of hospitalized COVID cases per day was 245, similar to hospitalization numbers one month ago. Deaths decreased to an average of four daily deaths a day this past week, a 72% decrease from one month ago when the average number of daily reported deaths over the previous seven days was 14.
Vaccines remain highly effective at slowing COVID-19 spread. Staying up-to-date with vaccines increases protection levels and reduces the risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19. Public Health officials continue to remind the public that getting vaccinated, getting boosted, getting tested, and masking-up as preventive steps remain critical in the fight against the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. To find a vaccination site or to make an appointment, please visit www.VaccinateLACounty.com.
COVID-19 testing remains widely available across LA County. Residents should first call their healthcare provider for a COVID-19 test. For people who cannot get a test through a healthcare provider, free testing is available. For additional information, please visit https://covid19.lacounty.gov/testing.
Los Angeles County coordinates a COVID-19 West Hollywood testing site at Plummer Park, located at 7377 Santa Monica Boulevard. The testing site is open each week from Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and is adjacent to the Community Center in the South Parking Lot. Tests are being administered by Fulgent Genetics and advance appointments must be made at la.fulgentgenetics.com. People getting tests should bring ID and confirmation number to the appointment.
Los Angeles County Health Services has launched a Pick-Up COVID-19 Testing Kit program that allows residents to pick up a PCR test kit and return it at designated locations, which include the COVID-19 West Hollywood testing site at Plummer Park. There is also a Pick-Up Testing Kit program at 14 LA County library sites including West Hollywood Library.
Additional information, such as links to West Hollywood-area drug store chains offering vaccinations, is available on the City of West Hollywood’s website at www.weho.org/coronavirus in the Vaccines and Testing Information section.
The City of West Hollywood remains in a declared local emergency in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. West Hollywood City Hall is open for in-person walk-in transactions at public counters or by appointment; to make an appointment, visit www.weho.org/appointments. City Hall services remain accessible by phone at (323) 848-6400 and via the City’s website at www.weho.org.
