Report to Mayor and City Council
Tuesday, October 04, 2022
Consent
SUBJECT:
Title
COVID-19 UPDATE (CITY COUNCIL)
Body
I. SUMMARY
COVID-19 Positive Case Information by the Numbers
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health COVID-19 case data as of 9/21/2022 listed below.
• New Cases: 1,451*
• Total Cases Reported: 3,444,076*
• 7-Day Daily Average Positivity Rate: 4.98%
• Carson Total Confirmed Cases: 31,864
*includes cases reported by Long Beach and Pasadena Public Health Departments
Additional COVID-19 testing information can be found at <https://dhs.lacounty.gov/covid-19/testing/>.
County/City of Carson Vaccination Status
As of the date of this report, 84% of Carson residents 6+ months of age and over have received at least one vaccine dose. The chart below shows vaccination rates for the City of Carson in comparison to the rates among the county.
Additional COVID-19 vaccine information can be found at <https://carsonca.gov/vaccine/>.
City of Carson specific updates:
• The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to affect many city employees. Employees who were unable to work due to being ill with the virus or for being contact traced were provided leave benefits under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA); Supplemental Paid Sick Leave of 2021 (SPSL) and Supplemental Paid Sick Leave of 2022 (SPSL22).
o Number of employees who tested positive since start of Pandemic: 341
o Number of employees who tested positive since January 1, 2022: 204
o Number of FFCRA, SPSL and SPSL22 benefit recipients: 311
• Masks continue to be required by all city employees and participants in city recreational and educational programs and camps.
Public Health updates:
• As the COVID-19 virus continues to mutate, there is a very real possibility that new variants of concern could contribute to another surge in the fall or winter, making it important that Los Angeles County residents take steps to reduce the risk for serious illness by being up to date on vaccines, testing when symptomatic or exposed, and using therapeutics when appropriate.
• Vaccinations remain the best defense against severe COVID-19 illness, and new Pfizer and Moderna boosters that target the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of Omicron were recently approved by both the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Bivalent boosters are available at 12 Public Health sites, 701 mobile vaccine clinics, and 245 community, pharmacy, and clinic sites.
Monkeypox Information:
In early August, both State of California and County of Los Angeles declared states of emergency due to the growing number of monkeypox cases. Monkeypox is a rare disease caused by a virus not commonly seen in the United States. Infections in the U.S. are usually associated with travel to West or Central Africa or contact with imported infected animals. Monkeypox can also spread when a person has close contact with a person infected with monkeypox virus or when a person comes in contact with materials that are contaminated with the virus.
As of September 21, there were 24,364 reported cases in the US, 2,053 cases and 1 confirmed death in LA County. In response to the increasing numbers, LA County Public Health has made vaccination available to certain high-risk groups. Through September 16, 61,292 first dose vaccines have been administered within the County.
II. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
1. RECEIVE and FILE.
Body
III. ALTERNATIVES
TAKE another action the City Council deems appropriate.
IV. BACKGROUND
COVID-19 is a viral respiratory illness caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, a novel coronavirus. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), COVID-19 is thought to spread mainly through close contact from person-to-person. Some people without symptoms may spread the virus. The virus spreads mainly from person-to-person between people in proximity with one another (within about 6 feet) by aspiration of respiratory droplets by an infected person.
V. FISCAL IMPACT
City costs are either being covered by existing department appropriations or new appropriations from the General Fund. All costs related to the COVID-19 pandemic are being tracked separately by staff who will continue to pursue all available reimbursements for eligible City costs incurred from FEMA or other sources.
VI. EXHIBITS
N/A
Prepared by: Nora Garcia, Emergency Services Manager, and Roobik Galoosian, Risk Manager