Long Beach health officials on Thursday were urging people get tested, wear masks and get vaccinated and boosted amid the steepest rise in COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic.
Fueled by the highly contagious omicron variant, Long Beach’s average daily number of cases increased by 1,234% this month, from 44 cases on Dec. 1 to 587 on Wednesday. Of the new cases, about half were identified as omicron, and officials said the percentage is expected to increase rapidly in the coming days.
The city on Wednesday reported 1,406 new cases, which is nearly three times higher than the daily total of 449 reported on Tuesday.
“COVID variants like omicron have caused case numbers to surge across the country, but vaccines and boosters are keeping so many folks out of the hospital,” Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia said in a statement. “It is so important to get vaccinated, get boosted, embrace masking and stay home even when mildly sick. Doing these things can help keep businesses open and people safe and will continue to save lives.”
This week’s new case numbers are some of the highest seen since mid-January this year, though in one hopeful sign, hospitalizations and deaths have remained relatively low compared to the winter surge at the beginning of 2021.
The city reported 52 Long Beach residents hospitalized, which is well below the 263 who were hospitalized last January.
Of those who are currently hospitalized, 71% are unvaccinated, officials said, “demonstrating the effectiveness of the vaccine for reducing severe illness and hospitalizations.”
“While cases are rising in Long Beach, the good news is that hospitalizations are not increasing as quickly as they were last January,” City Health Officer Dr. Anissa Davis said in a statement. “This is a testament to the fact that vaccinations and boosters are proving effective at preventing severe disease. Please get vaccinated if you haven’t already, and get boosted if you’re eligible.”
The city on Thursday closed the Billie Jean King Main Library in Downtown after a COVID-19 exposure. The library will reopen on Tuesday.
Los Angeles County on Thursday also reported explosive numbers with 20,198 new cases, more than triple the number from last week. The county reported a positivity rate of 21%, meaning 1 in 5 people is testing positive.
Long Beach’s positivity rate on Wednesday was 8.1%, which was more than double from last week.
“We are in fact experiencing the worst of the surge at the moment,” said Los Angele County Health Director Barbara Ferrer.
Ferrer said that while circulation of omicron has led to more fully vaccinated people getting infected, hospitalizations continue to be affecting primarily unvaccinated people. She said the hospitalization rate for unvaccinated people is 28 per 100,000 residents, while the rate for the vaccinated has remained relatively flat at 1 per 100,000.
“Vaccination continues to be highly protective against hospitalization,” she said.
She said statistics show unvaccinated people are 14 times more likely to die from the virus than the vaccinated.
Ferrer also noted that overall, death rates have remained relatively flat in the county, despite the dramatic surge in infections, but she said that could change.
“Deaths fortunately remain low and they haven’t changed, but this is because we’re only about a week out from when our hospitalizations started rising,” she said.
The county reported an additional 24 deaths on Thursday.
Ferrer said adults ages 18 to 49 account for about 70% of all new cases, while the group accounted for about 55% of cases in the last winter surge.
As that age group is more likely to be out and mingling, health officials were warning people to rethink their New Year’s Eve plans for gathering.
In Long Beach, testing demand has soared, with nearly 6,200 people receiving tests on Tuesday, compared to 1,015 people who visited testing clinics in the city on Nov. 24.
The city is urging people to make appointments and arrive according to their scheduled date and time.
For the most up-to-date schedule, people may visit longbeach.gov/covid19testing. High demand has impacted wait times for appointments, but the city has ample tests available, and test results are generally available within 48 hours.
For other sites across Los Angeles County and more information about the county’s at-home test collection program visit https://covid19.lacounty.gov/testing/.
Vaccines are available to everyone 5 years old and older, regardless of immigration status, and are always free of charge. City-run vaccine clinics are offered six days a week. To view the schedule and make an appointment, visit longbeach.gov/vaxlb or call 562-570-4636.
People also may contact their healthcare provider or area pharmacies. For more information and to register for the free vaccines at local clinics, go to the VaxLB website or myturn.ca.gov/.
– City News Service contributed to this report