(KTLA) — Los Angeles County’s recent surge in COVID-19 infections is especially affecting people under the age of 50, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
On July 21, the county confirmed 2,551 new cases of COVID-19, of which 83% are among people under the age of 50 and 65% are among adults between 18 and 49 years old, a release from the Department of Public Health noted.
In addition, one of the seven people who were reported on July 21 to have died due to COVID-19 was between 30 and 49 years old, the county said. Two people that died were between the ages of 65 and 79, and three people who died were between 50 and 64.
Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in the release that officials are hopeful that the availability of vaccines will help L.A. County “avoid similar increases in deaths that were experienced last year.”
“By adding a mask requirement for everyone indoors, the risk for transmission of the virus will be reduced, and with increases in the number of people getting vaccinated, we should be able to get back to slowing the spread,” Ferrer said.
Everyone over the age of 12 can get vaccinated, and the Department of Public Health release noted that those who are not vaccinated are at the highest risk of getting infected with COVID-19.
This past weekend, the county enacted a mask requirement for everyone over the age of 2, regardless of vaccination status.
“Sensible masking indoors adds a layer of protection to the powerful vaccines. It is important that we work together to drive down transmission so that there will be much less community transmission when schools reopen,” Ferrer said.
Recovery from the pandemic has been complicated by the spread of the delta variant, now California’s dominant coronavirus strain. The variant became a source of concern as it was found to be more contagious than even the other highly contagious variants reported.
“Given that slightly under 4 million L.A. County residents are not vaccinated, the risk of increased spread of this variant within our county remains high,” L.A. County health officer Dr. Muntu Davis said last week.