A North Long Beach Samoan church lost three of its younger members within two weeks this summer, highlighting the dangers of COVID-19 for region’s Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander community.
The average age of a person who dies of COVID-19 in Long Beach is 59.
The number of those patients in intensive care also declined, from 433 to 412. Long Beach has also seen a slight decline in hospitalizations with the number of people in Long Beach area hospitals with COVID-19 dropping to 118, down from 143 in mid-August, according to the most recent city data.
The new order, which will become effective at 11:59 p.m. Thursday, will require mask wearing in large outdoor settings except when people are “actively eating or drinking.” The order will apply to everyone, regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status.
Students are not included in the new policy, but all faculty and staff will have to be vaccinated or submit to weekly COVID tests when school starts.
“As with anything that potentially requires a certification, there is the possibility for an individual to falsify documentation,” a spokesman for the California State University system said.
That includes the Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse in Downton Long Beach.
Long Beach officials haven’t proposed such a rule locally, but they’ve often followed the lead of LA City and LA County on pandemic restrictions.
Just 58% of sworn fire employees and 51% of sworn police employees reported being fully vaccinated, according to data from the city of Long Beach.
The delta variant “is now everywhere,” including in Long Beach. It sent case rates soaring, but—so far—hospitalizations haven’t spiked nearly as much.
