As residents begin making Halloween plans for later this month, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) is urging residents to partake in safe outdoor activities, like trick-or-treating, outdoor ghost tours and pumpkin patch visits to keep coronavirus cases on the decline.
With the “highly-transmissible” Delta variant continuing to account for 100% of coronavirus strains recorded across L.A. County, Public Health is urging residents to choose coronavirus safe Halloween activities.
The safest activities, according to Public Health, include outdoor costume parties, pumpkin patch visits, outdoor ghost tours, hayrides and trick-or-treating, when done safely.
“Wherever possible, aim to be outside, particularly if you are with individuals, including children, that are not yet vaccinated; masks covering your nose and mouth should be worn if in crowds or close contact with others not in your household,” read a statement from Public Health on Saturday.
L.A. County is reportedly in a much better place this year with limiting coronavirus transmission as 60% of the nearly 10.3 million L.A. County residents fully vaccinated, according to Public Health.
However, Halloween may still present increased risk of COVID-19 transmission and Public Health is urging L.A. County residents to avoid celebrating in closed spaces with poor air flow, crowded places and close contact settings especially where people are talking, laughing, screaming or breathing heavily close together.
“As we move into the fall and winter months, the best thing all of us can do to get ready for the holidays is to get vaccinated as soon as possible if we are eligible,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Director of Public Health on Saturday. “With community transmission at a substantial level, surrounding children under 12 who cannot yet get the vaccine with fully vaccinated teens and adults offers our youngest residents important protection from transmission of the virus.”
COVID-19 case rates for teens remain eight times higher for those unvaccinated than those who are vaccinated and for unvaccinated adults over 50, case rates are fivefold higher than their vaccinated counterparts, according to Public Health.
“We join the nation in mourning the death of former Secretary of State General Colin Powell, who has died of COVID complications at the age of 84,” Ferrer said. “While our data demonstrates the tremendous power of vaccines to prevent severe outcomes of COVID infection, this tragic loss highlights the fact that for vulnerable people, including older adults and those with underlying health conditions including immunosuppression, there is still a small but serious risk of hospitalization or death even after vaccination.”
Due to this risk, Public Health continues urging the public to continue masking and social distancing to reduce exposure risk, according to Public Health.
On Monday, Public Health confirmed four new deaths and 948 positive coronavirus cases across the county. One person who passed away was over the age of 80, one person who died was between the ages of 50 and 64, and two people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49.
To date, Public Health has identified 1,478,622 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 26,418 deaths.
As of Monday, Oct. 19, 35,422 cumulative cases have been reported in the Santa Clarita Valley since March of 2020, according to Public Health. These cases include:
- 27,012 in the City of Santa Clarita*
- 64 in the unincorporated areas of Bouquet Canyon
- 1,147 in the unincorporated areas of Canyon Country
- 4,452 in Castaic*
- 69 in the unincorporated areas of Newhall
- 4 in Placerita Canyon
- 19 in San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon
- 24 in unincorporated Sand Canyon
- 166 in the unincorporated areas of Saugus
- 51 in the unincorporated areas of Saugus/Canyon Country
- 1,716 in Stevenson Ranch
- 423 in the unincorporated areas of Val Verde
- 275 in the unincorporated areas of Valencia
See Related: L.A. County Preparing To Administer Johnson & Johnson, Moderna COVID-19 Boosters
A wide range of data and dashboards on COVID-19 from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health are available on the Public Health website:
Public Health encourages everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated. Anyone 12 and older living or working in L.A. County can get vaccinated against COVID-19. Many vaccination sites across the county, including all the County-run sites, are also offering third doses of vaccine to eligible immunocompromised people.
Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status.
Los Angeles County residents eligible for a booster dose of Pfizer include the following groups of people who received the second of the two-dose Pfizer vaccine series at least 6 months ago and are either:
- People aged 65 years or older
- Residents of long-term care facilities
- People aged 18 to 64 years with underlying medical conditions
- People aged 18 to 64 years with high institutional or occupational risk, including healthcare workers, first responders, teachers and day care staff, grocery workers, and workers and residents in homeless shelters or prisons, among others
To learn how to make a vaccine appointment, what verifications you will need to show at your vaccination appointment and much more, visit the L.A. County Vaccination website (English) or Vacunate Los Angeles website (Spanish).
See All Coronavirus Coverage: Coronavirus Coverage – COVID-19 Map
Do you have a news tip? Call us at (661) 298-1220, or send an email to news@hometownstation.com. Don’t miss a thing. Get breaking KHTS Santa Clarita News Alerts delivered right to your inbox. Report a typo or error, email Corrections@hometownstation.com
KHTS FM 98.1 and AM 1220 is Santa Clarita’s only local radio station. KHTS mixes in a combination of news, traffic, sports, and features along with your favorite adult contemporary hits. Santa Clarita news and features are delivered throughout the day over our airwaves, on our website and through a variety of social media platforms. Our KHTS national award-winning daily news briefs are now read daily by 34,000+ residents. A vibrant member of the Santa Clarita community, the KHTS broadcast signal reaches all of the Santa Clarita Valley and parts of the high desert communities located in the Antelope Valley. The station streams its talk shows over the web, reaching a potentially worldwide audience. Follow @KHTSRadio on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
No comments:
Post a Comment