Covid-19 outbreaks in workplaces have increased dramatically in recent weeks in response to increased transmission in the community, Los Angeles County health officials said today, warning that employers need to ensure that their employees and customers are protected.
“We have a problem with transmitting Covid-19 to workplaces across the county,” said director of public health Barbara Ferrer. “As the percentage of people positive with COVID-19 increases, there is simply a much larger group of infected people circulating, often without symptoms, that now exposes an increasing percentage of people to the virus.”
She said that within a month, outbreaks in general workplaces – including warehouses, factories and logistics companies – have increased from an average of nine a week to 44 a week. Schools and daycare centers also recorded a tripling of outbreaks. Ferrer noted that most of them were “small and well contained”, but involved “dozens of employees and a small number of students”.
Related Story
California accounts for 30% of all Covid-19 deaths in the US on Tuesday, as the state reaches 30,000 total virus deaths; Only 99,000 fully inoculated residents
These outbreaks reflected a steady increase in cases across the county. Health officials reported another 218 deaths from COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the number of deaths from the virus across the county to 12,955. They also announced 14,564 new cases, bringing the cumulative numbers since the pandemic began to 958,497.
Ferrer noted that the average of new daily cases has increased by 1,092% since November, the average of daily deaths has increased by 1,133% and hospitalizations have increased by 875%.
She said the county is also preparing for the likelihood that a new variant of Covid-19 discovered in the UK – called B.1.1.7 – is taking place locally.
“According to the latest available science, the UK variant does not make people sicker, but it is more transmissible, which means it can spread more easily,” said Ferrer. “Current experts’ projections predict that, if left unchecked, this variant could dominate locally in March.”
Asked if he was concerned about B.1.1.7 California Health and Human Services Director Dr. Mark Ghaly replied: “We are certainly concerned about this. I think we have 38 confirmed cases … if it works, we will see an even more widespread transmission than now. I think the transmission of fees will be significantly more difficult to contain if we see more of this variant B.1.1.7. “
With the variant’s ability to move quickly from person to person, Ferrer said people must continue to take all necessary precautions, without discarding the need for stricter regulations to control the spread.
Ferrer and Director of Health Services, Dr. Christina Ghaly, again noted that hospitalizations appear to be stabilizing at an average of just under 8,000 patients per day. State figures showed 7,906 people hospitalized with Covid-19 on Wednesday, including 1,699 in intensive care.
The record number of pandemic-related patients in the county was well over 8,000 last week.
“Although the numbers have stabilized at this only timid number of 8,000, they have stabilized at a rate that is not really sustainable,” said Ghaly of LA.
“This high plateau does not leave enough open beds to care for patients without Covid. And it still doesn’t allow us to be prepared for an additional attack from patients who may appear in the coming weeks in a potential post-holiday increase. ”
Ghaly said Los Angeles hospitals have not yet begun to see the results of the meetings and the transmission of the virus that probably occurred during the Christmas and New Year holidays.
“Even if the slight decline continues, we are nowhere near clean in the LA County hospital system,” she said. “Hospitals cannot sustain the high level of beds occupied by COVID patients.”
She added: “For there to be any significant relief for healthcare professionals, we need a rapid and significant decline in hospitalizations for a period of one to two months. Please don’t let this current number of daily hospitalizations seem normal to you just because it is stagnating. “
“We must be prepared to do more if the cases remain high,” she said. “The job ahead of us requires that we take all necessary measures to reduce transmission.”
The city’s news service contributed to this report.