Updated 2 hours ago
Bloomberg
Los Angeles County reported 500 new cases of COVID-19 and 29 additional deaths Saturday, while the county s test positivity rate was at the lowest level of the pandemic at 0.6%.
According to state figures, there were 410 coronavirus patients hospitalized in the county as of Saturday, down from 414 on Friday, with 86 people in intensive care, down from 88 on Friday. Saturday s figures brought the county s totals to 1,233,488 cases and 23,918 fatalities since the pandemic began, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Download our mobile app for iOS or Android to get the latest breaking news and local stories.
The easing of restrictions, however, comes amid continued concern about the slowing pace of vaccinations in the county. In a statement Friday, county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer again stressed the urgency for people to get inoculated, while also continuing to adhere to other health guidelines to prevent a resurgence of the virus locally.
“We must continue to be careful and take sensible precautions in the weeks ahead while we vaccinate more people, especially as we look to move to the least restrictive tier in the State s Blueprint for a Safer Economy framework,” she said. “While fully vaccinated people can participate in some activities because of the protection vaccinations give them, it is critically important that we continue to wear masks, avoid crowds and encourage everyone to get fully vaccinated both first and second doses.”
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A number of factors have fueled California’s remarkable turnaround from national epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic to having one of the lowest case rates in the U.S.
But one weapon in its arsenal has gone largely unnoticed: Californians’ general embrace of COVID-19 vaccines.
Federal data indicate only about 11% of Californians are estimated to be vaccine hesitant, a lower rate than all but four states: Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut and Hawaii.
This relative lack of reluctance has undoubtedly been a boon for the state’s inoculation campaign though a Times analysis shows
Californians in some of the state’s conservative rural areas remain more disinclined to get the shots than their urban-dwelling neighbors.
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Los Angeles County announced a new round of reopenings and eased restrictions Friday. (Shutterstock)
LOS ANGELES, CA Call it the fun reopening. Los Angeles County eased COVID-19 health restrictions, allowing indoor arcades, playgrounds, laser tag, ball pits and bounce houses to reopen Friday. The county also nixed restrictions on the operating hours of bars, wineries and breweries.
While bars still must operate outdoors and indoor playgrounds will be required to operate at limited capacity, the latest round of reopenings are a big step toward a return to normal recreation in Los Angeles. Clubs in Los Angeles remain shuttered, for the time being.
LAâs Dodger Stadium vaccine site to shut down by end of May
(AP)
and last updated 2021-04-30 19:19:21-04
LOS ANGELES, Calif. â Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced Friday that the COVID-19 mass vaccination site at Dodger Stadium will close by the end of May, part of a trend in California to bring doses closer to where people live as appointments in some places go unfilled.
Winding down operations at the stadium marks the transition of the cityâs vaccination efforts to appointment-free options as well as putting more doses into walk-up centers and mobile clinics, the mayor said in a statement.