A Look At COVID-19 Case Numbers And Rates Of Infection In Younger Adults Requires Distance Learning At Institutions

LA County Reaches More Than 5,000 COVID-19 Deaths

LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles County announced on Aug. 11 that there have now been a total of 5,057 deaths from COVID-19 in the county. That same day the county announced that there were 63 new confirmed deaths from COVID-19, and 1,440 new cases. This puts the county at a total of 211,808 positive cases.

There are currently 1,524 people being hospitalized for COVID-19, and 32% of them are in the ICU. Of the 5,057 who died, 92% had underlying health conditions. Of the 63 new deaths, 57 had underlying health conditions. 31 were over 80 years old, 16 were between 65 and 79, 13 were between 50 and 64, and one was between 18 and 29.

Problems with state electronic laboratory reporting have led to undercounting. This leads to a reduced number of cases announced each day, and negatively affects contact tracing efforts.

Younger People Continue to Drive New Infections; Colleges and Universities Must Continue Distance Learning

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health or Public Health announced, Aug. 12, that Institutions of Higher Education need to limit campus activities in the near term, as community transmission rates remain high. These higher rates are driven, in part, by younger people between 18 to 30 years old who account for 25% to 30% of new infections.

Public Health guidelines state that Los Angeles County colleges and universities may continue their essential operations, but most academic instruction must continue to be done via distance-learning. Institutions may continue to offer in person training and instruction only for students who are or will become part of the essential workforce and only for required activities that cannot be accomplished through virtual learning. All other academic instruction must continue to be done via distance-learning. Faculty and other staff may come to campus to provide distance learning and other activities related to the purposes above, as well as maintaining minimum basic operations.

Colleges and universities should limit their on-campus student residency to only providing housing for students who have no alternative housing options.

Collegiate sports may only proceed in compliance with all the California Department of Public Health Specific Interim Guidance for Collegiate Athletics.