Cases in skilled nursing facilities have dropped since staff and residents started getting vaccinated and remain low. For the week ending June 20, nearly 30,000 COVID-19 tests were performed among trained personnel and residents of nursing facilities and only seven people tested positive for COVID-19; one new case among residents and six new cases among staff; the majority of these cases involve unvaccinated individuals. For comparison, in the last week of December 2020, a total of 2,532 people tested positive for COVID-19; 1,423 cases among residents and 1,109 cases among staff.

Currently, 84% of skilled nursing staff and 84% of skilled residents of nursing homes are fully immunized. The low case rates in skilled nursing homes reflect these high vaccination rates.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has confirmed three new deaths and 326 new cases of COVID-19. The number of cases and deaths may reflect delays in reporting during the holidays. Of the three new deaths reported today, one person who died was between 65 and 79 and two who died were between 30 and 49. To date, Public Health has identified 1,253,065 positive cases of COVID-19 in all countries. areas of LA County and a total of 24,507 deaths. There are 273 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Test results are available for more than 7,070,000 people, including 16% of those who test positive.

“Our deepest condolences go out to all who have lost a loved one to COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, director of public health. “We continue to see in places with high COVID-19 vaccination rates, COVID-19 transmission has dropped and remains low. As vaccination rates continue to rise across LA County, COVID-19 and worrisome variants like the Delta variant remain a threat to anyone unvaccinated. LA County has recently seen an increase in cases, hospitalizations and the positivity of daily tests and the people who are severely suffering from COVID-19 are the people who are not vaccinated. The best way to protect those who cannot get vaccinated, including the 1.3 million children under the age of 12, is to surround them with vaccinated people. With the increase in community transmission, we have already noted an increase in cases occurring even in our very young children. If you are 12 years of age or older and surrounded by younger children, please take the time to get immunized quickly if you have not already done so. Let’s continue to protect each other. “

Until Thursday, July 8 at county-run vaccination sites, LA City sites, and St. John’s Well Child and Family Center sites, all people 18 years of age and over coming for the vaccination will have the opportunity to win one of four packages of tickets and passes to the botanical gardens in the region. Each prize includes annual membership to the Huntington Botanic Gardens and day passes to Descanso Gardens, LA County Arboretum, and South Coast Botanical Garden. Official rules and locations of participating sites are posted online on the Los Angeles Vaccination Contest page. The winners will be contacted by phone and / or email.

Anyone 12 years of age and older living or working in LA County can get the vaccine. Visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish) to find a vaccination site near you, to schedule vaccination site appointments, and more. If you don’t have internet access, can’t use a computer, or if you’re over 65, you can call 1-833-540-0473 for help finding an appointment, connect to free transportation to and from an immunization site, or schedule a home visit if you are homebound. Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers, regardless of their immigration status.

COVID-19 Industry Protocols, Best Practices, COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard, COVID-19 Interactive Monitoring Dashboard, Recovery Dashboard, and additional steps you can take to protect yourself, your family and community are on the public health website,

www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.