The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported on Sunday 1,313 new cases of coronavirus, even as the rate of positive tests dropped.
In the last seven days, 1.8% of people tested for coronavirus were positive, compared to more than 20% at the beginning of the year.
The county also reported 22 deaths – probably a lower count due to late reporting over the weekend.
There are 1,176 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the municipality; almost a third are in intensive care. Hospitalizations have dropped 50% in the past two weeks.
Deaths and hospitalizations are lagging indicators of the spread of the coronavirus, reflecting exposures that occurred several weeks earlier.
A total of more than 1.2 million cases were confirmed in LA County and 22,029 people died. Across the state, there were more than 3.5 million confirmed cases and 54,124 deaths.
In a statement on Saturday, Barbara Ferrer, director of public health for LA County, asked the public to continue to follow public health guidelines – avoiding large meetings, wearing masks and postponing non-essential trips – as the weather heats up and more companies open across the state.
Orange County reported 110 new cases and 53 deaths on Sunday; Public health officials said reports of deaths in the next few days could be larger than normal, as they eliminate an accumulation that arose from technical problems in a state database. There are 296 Orange County residents hospitalized with the disease, 30% of whom are in intensive care.
LA and Orange counties, along with the rest of Southern California, remain at the state’s most restrictive level for reopening, purple. Soon, counties are expected to move to the next level, red, depending in part on when California can administer more vaccines in low-income areas.
Until Sunday, LA County, which has a population of 10 million, administered 2,489,533 doses of the vaccine. Orange County, with a population of 3.2 million, administered 832,948 doses.
In LA County, healthcare professionals, people aged 65 and over and essential workers in education, day care, emergency services and food and agriculture are eligible to receive the vaccine.
Amid the decline in cases and the expansion of vaccines, open-air restaurants, hairdressing and manicure salons and museums reopened with reduced capacity. Some schools in LA County have reopened with modifications to the transitional kindergarten through sixth grade; Los Angeles Unified said it hopes to reopen for some grades in elementary school in mid-April.
State officials said on Friday that theme parks and sports stadiums could open as early as April 1.