As COVID-19 cases continue to rise throughout Los Angeles County, the City of Long Beach entered the Medium Tier of the CDC’s COVID-19 Community Level on Dec. 9.
The Long Beach Health Department uses the CDC Community Levels to assess the impact of COVID-19 on health and healthcare systems. The department considers new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations per 100,000 people in the past seven days, as well as the percent of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients to determine community level.
As of Dec. 8, COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people were at 259.4, hospitalizations due to COVID-19 were at 4.9 per 100,000 people, and 6.9% of staffed inpatient beds were occupied by COVID-19 patients, placing Long Beach in the Medium (Yellow) Tier.
The Health Department advises residents to be vigilant and take preventative steps to slow the spread of the disease. Masking indoors is strongly recommended, especially for those who are at a higher risk for severe disease or have been in close contact with someone who recently tested positive. Safety strategies such as frequent hand washing, testing for COVID-19 when experiencing COVID-like symptoms and staying home when feeling under the weather are also encouraged.
Additionally, community members are encouraged to become vaccinated and boosted when eligible, since that is the best defense against COVID-19 and is most effective in preventing severe illness, hospitalization and death among cases of the virus. The updated bivalent boosters have increased protections against the most dominant strains of the virus, including omicron and its sub variants.
“We must do everything we can to limit the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses as we enter the holiday season,” said Mayor Robert Garcia in a statement from the City. “With cases rising, it is more important than ever to get vaccinated and boosted, use masks and stay home if you’re not feeling well. These steps will continue to help keep people safe, businesses open and, most importantly, save lives.”
Since the start of the pandemic, Long Beach has had 156,560 COVID-19 cases and 1,341 deaths attributed to complications from COVID-19.
On Wednesday, Dec. 14, there were 4,211 new COVID-19 cases in LA County and 16 new deaths due to COVID-19. About 1,304 people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, with 29 currently hospitalized with the virus in Long Beach.
Various symptoms of COVID-19 such as congestion, sore throat, fever, cough, headache and nausea resemble those of a cold, flu or allergies. However, anyone experiencing these symptoms are advised to get tested for COVID-19 or stay home. Appointments can be made at longbeach.gov/covid19testing or by calling (562) 570-4636.
Taking these precautions will also help residents avoid other respiratory viruses such as the flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) which are circulating at higher rates than usual for this time of year.
As of Dec. 8 there have been a total of 1,841 influenza cases, including four deaths, reported in Long Beach.
Everyone ages 6 months and older are recommended to receive a yearly flu vaccine. People may receive their COVID-19 vaccine or booster at the same time as their flu shot at any City-run COVID-19 vaccine site.
For further information regarding the City’s COVID-19 strategy and updates related to COVID-19 cases and vaccines, visit longbeach.gov/COVID19 or follow @LongBeachCity and @LBHealthDept on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
