LA County Allows Small Gatherings Despite Uptick In Transmissions

LOS ANGELES, CA — Los Angeles County on Thursday gave the greenlight for small private gatherings with members of up to three separate households. It's the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic that Los Angeles residents have been officially allowed such leeway to socialize. It comes at a time the county is seeing a rise in virus transmission rates.

But even as county officials amended its coronavirus public health order, they warned that a return to the pre-pandemic normal would be disastrous for Los Angeles County. Los Angeles County's top health officer joined a national chorus of health officials condemning a herd immunity proposal embraced by the White House. Authored by a small group of doctors aligned with the White House, the proposal favors allowing healthy people to go back to normal and allowing them to catch the coronavirus to establish some sort of herd immunity to protect the more vulnerable among us. Such a scenario is woefully unrealistic and could lead to untold deaths, according to county Health Officer Dr. Muntu Davis.

"There's been a lot of discussion among our public heaLth and health sciences communities and they have unambiguously rejected this declaration, and this approach would unnecessarily sacrifice many lives," Davis said of the so-called Great Barrington Declaration. "There's no evidence that we in the United States are close to herd immunity, as 85 to 90% of the population is still at risk for becoming infected with COVID-19."

The declaration, backed by an economic research institution in Massachusetts, essentially calls for those at low risk of becoming seriously ill from the coronavirus to return to pre-pandemic life, while those at high risk -- the elderly and those with underlying health conditions -- stay home to reduce their risk of infection. The proposal espouses the idea that the virus will spread through the low-risk population most likely to survive the infection, leading to a naturally occurring immune response.

Davis, echoing criticism that has been leveled by an array of health professionals, said the concept basically advocates the sacrifice of lives of people who are susceptible to the illness, because there's no way to isolate them from infection.

He said the declaration "makes the assumption that people who fall into these (high-risk) groups live in a vacuum, and that they can make a living while at home."

"I would say for us, about 30% of our population fall into the high- risk category at a minimum," he said. "In reality, many people who are at great risk are an integral part of our society. They live and interact with people who are younger and healthier. ... Even if a healthy person becomes infected when they are outside of their home, working or socializing, they may return to a person who has underlying health conditions and infect them and this can result in serious illness and death.

"So the logic of this declaration operates under the assumption that it's acceptable to sacrifice lives for the greater population, and this is in many senses unethical and immoral and also avoidable."

Davis on Thursday also warned again about the potential dangers of twin COVID-19 and flu pandemics, and said the county will be working to ensure vulnerable populations -- notably those in skilled nursing facilities and the homeless -- are vaccinated against influenza.

He noted that the symptoms of flu and COVID-19 are very similar, and the preventative coronavirus measures many people are taking such as proper hygiene, face coverings and social distancing will also help prevent spread of the flu.

"As we've seen from countries in the Southern Hemisphere who have already had their flu season, these actions can be effective in preventing the spread of both viruses, and many have seen fairly mild flu seasons," he said. "We very much hope the same or better here in Los Angeles County and across the state."

Still, the county' decision amended guidelines allowing small private gatherings with members of up to three households marks a change from previous rules barring gatherings with other households

Davis said the new guidance shouldn't be seen as a sweeping call for people to hold parties with friends and neighbors. But it recognizes that such small gatherings have clearly already been occurring, and the county and state wanted to set rules for such get-togethers, such as requiring face coverings and social distancing and limiting the size of the events.

"If it is going to happen, here are the guidance and the rules for doing that in order to limit the likelihood of transmission amongst the group as well as to the rest of the community," Davis said. "I hear you in terms of the timing. But we know that this is happening. We see that there's some evidence of this happening across the country and providing some guidance may be helpful to prevent what we're hearing about."

County public health officials on Wednesday reported a recent rise in workplace virus outbreaks. The county's effective transmission rate -- the average number of other people a COVID-19 patient infects with the virus -- also rose to 1.05, up from 1.0 two weeks ago.

"As a reminder, if (the rate) is greater than one, then we anticipate that the number of new cases will increase over time," said Dr. Christina Ghaly, the county health services director.

The county reported another 24 coronavirus-related deaths on Thursday, although one of those fatalities was actually announced Wednesday by health officials in Long Beach. The countywide death toll due to the virus stood at 6,834 as of Thursday.

The county also announced another 1,233 new confirmed virus infections, while Long Beach added 30 and Pasadena reported four, increasing the countywide total since the start of the pandemic to 286,217.

The 723 people hospitalized as of Thursday was up from 720 on Wednesday, 692 on Tuesday, 693 on Monday and 715 on Sunday.

City News Service and Patch Staffer contributed to this report.