School coronavirus outbreaks increase in Los Angeles County after mask orders are lifted

After many schools have lifted the requirement to wear masks, the outbreak of coronavirus in K-12 schools is increasing in Los Angeles County.

Barbara Ferrer, director of public health at Los Angeles County, said there were 14 new outbreaks at school during the week ending Thursday. There were four in the previous week.

The latest figures are the highest of such numbers since early February, during the fall-winter Omicron surge. Twelve were in elementary school and two were in high school.

One of the high school outbreaks involved dozens of infected people. Initially, 26 cases of coronavirus were reported to be related to each other. Since then, the outbreak has expanded to 60 at the school.

“This is one of the biggest outbreaks in schools since the beginning of the pandemic,” Ferrer said on the K-12 campus.

According to Feller, the 60 outbreaks are caused by the more contagious Omicron BA.2 variant, which is 30% to 60% more contagious than previous versions of Omicron that hit Earth last fall and winter. It is estimated to be% higher.

According to Feller, the increase in school-wide outbreaks is partly due to the removal of the requirement for indoor masks.

“Why are we seeing more outbreaks? Well, that’s because some of the other protections we were implementing are no longer there,” Ferrer said. Masks, if needed, “really helped keep the permeability low in these classrooms, especially because the ventilation system is not perfect in some schools.”

Many schools still wear masks, while others don’t, Feller said. “As long as some people don’t wear them, it will be much easier for the infection to occur,” Feller said.

Outbreaks are more common among young children due to lower immunization rates in these age groups. Only 31% of children in LA County, ages 5-11, completed the primary vaccination series, while 77% of adolescents aged 12-17 completed it.

Another factor in the increase in school outbreaks, according to Feller, is “changes in state quarantine guidance that asymptomatic students no longer need to wear masks and be tested during the quarantine period.” ..

The latest trend is “because it represents an increase in viral infections in schools,” Feller said.

“If the school outbreak continues to increase, we will work with our school partners to determine if additional safety measures are needed,” Feller added.

Feller strongly recommended that everyone in indoor public places, including schools, continue to wear masks. She said there was no increase in outbreaks in some other settings that still needed masking, such as nursing homes and homeless shelters.

Noting that some people have decided not to wear a mask again, Feller said it can be important to wear a mask, as it is now.

“There is a positive person in you, a respirator that fits and filters well, especially when you wear a good mask, and even if there is a positive person near you, you are dramatically Can be infected, “Feller said.

Other safeguards the school can take, according to Feller, include improving ventilation, monitoring the symptoms of students and staff, testing those who are symptomatic or exposed to infected people, and returning home to infected people. You may be asked to wear a mask at school. We provide regular weekly tests to students who have been tested, have not been vaccinated, or have not been fully vaccinated.

State requirements for wearing masks in indoor kindergarten to high school settings March 12Allows the school to make its own decisions about masks. LA Unified School District Lifted March 23 indoor masking requirements.

After a steady decline for several weeks, cases of coronavirus in Los Angeles County began to increase. The week ended Thursday in LA County averaged about 879 per day, or 61 per 100,000 inhabitants per week. LA County has a significant coronavirus infection rate situation.

The latest case rate is about 28% higher than it was a week ago when the county reported about 685 cases a day.

Case rates are also rising in San Francisco. At UC San Francisco Hospital, 2% of asymptomatic people being tested were found to be infected with the coronavirus, compared to 1% in late March. Tweet Dr. Robert Wachter, Dean of the University School of Medicine. Coronavirus positive test rates for people with visible illness went from 8% to 15% over the same period.

“Now there are unmistakable signs of a rise,” Wachter wrote. “If you’re not vigilant, you need to be more careful.”

However, while the number of cases of coronavirus is increasing in LA County and San Francisco, the increase in relatively mild cases is seen in California and the United States, avoiding a large surge that puts great pressure on hospitals. Many experts have also expressed optimism.

Dr. Eric Topol, Director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla, said: twitter In the northeastern United States, where BA.2 became dominant faster than the West Coast, despite a slight increase in cases, the “signs of a surge or surge,” as seen in the first Omicron wave hit last. It looks like there is no such thing. autumn.

“Carefully optimistic” Tweet Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an expert on UC San Francisco Infectious Diseases.

In fact, in Los Angeles County, the number of coronavirus hospitalizations remains low, with 273 coronavirus-positive patients in county hospitals as of Wednesday. This is close to the lowest pandemic when 212 coronavirus-positive patients were admitted to the county hospital on June 12.

Feller encourages people to get vaccinated and boosted, for people over the age of 50 Second booster The shot gets it. Those who are eligible for the second booster should be removed from the first booster for at least four months.

“If you want to make sure you’re optimally protected … go ahead and get that second booster effect,” Ferrer said. “If you have a mutant that is more susceptible to infection than it starts to circulate, it’s not a bad idea to prime your immune system as much as possible.”

Feller also optimistically said that spring wouldn’t be as bad as the surge in Omicrons in the past fall and winter has put a strain on hospitals.

In Los Angeles County, well over a million people have been infected with the previous Omicron subvariety, and people infected with that version are unlikely to be infected with BA.2.

The solution is that 75% of LA County residents complete their primary vaccination series at age 5 and older, and more people are receiving first and second boosters. In addition, more anti-COVID drugs, including those in the form of pills, are becoming available over time, but it is still not very easy for people to access all of these drugs, Feller said. rice field.

“We are keenly aware that the virus is unpredictable and will do our best to prepare and minimize the tragic consequences,” Feller said. “But given what we’ve seen and what we’re doing, we should be able to avoid a really big surge.”

She said she couldn’t predict the future, but hoped that “we could continue to play our part and prevent ourselves from having a bad spring.”

One concern is that the US government has stopped reimbursement to vaccine providers who provided injections to uninsured individuals. Feller pleaded with Congress to sign a contract as soon as possible to replenish the funds.

Los Angeles County and other vaccine providers continue to offer free vaccinations and boost immunization for uninsured people, but they can’t afford to do so for too long, Feller said.

“These money save lives,” Feller said when trying to fight the virus she called, “certainly far more deadly in my life than I’ve experienced with many other viruses.” Said.

“In the midst of a pandemic, it’s not time for us to change our community again in a short period of time and change their ability to do everything they can to reduce the burden of illness and death,” Feller said. I did.