Pasadena City Hall on Thursday, June 1, 2023. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
With rates of respiratory illness elevated coming into the new year, Pasadena’s Public Health Department urged residents this weekend to make efforts to limit exposure, an effort aligned with recently updated state guidelines.
“COVID-19 is a preventable disease,” said Pasadena Interim Health Officer Dr. Parveen Kaur in a statement Friday. “We can all do our part to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases by staying home when sick, masking, and getting vaccinated.”
Pasadena, which runs its own health department, has seen a steady increase in the 7-day rolling average from 7.7 cases to 8.9 cases, between Nov. 20 and Jan. 8, city officials said. Officials notes that the numbers underestimate actual cases, since people are not required to report positive at-home antigen tests to the Public Health Department.
The increase mirrors a rise on the county level.
L.A. County Public Health data showed last week that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is widely circulating in the county, officials said, noting that testing of wastewater concentrations of the virus were at 60% of last year’s winter peak, up from 49% the week prior. The Pasadena Public Health Department relies on additional COVID-19 data provided by Los Angeles County.
All the while, the county Public Health Department reported that hospitalizations remained elevated. An average of 806 COVID-positive patients per day for the week ending Jan. 6, were an increase from 784 the week before.
The rise in COVID rates is not a total surprise. Coronavirus transmission as spiked every winter since 2020. But this year, doctors say they are seeing a troubling influx of influenza and respiratory syncytial virus – or RSV – which, health care professionals said last week, have returned with a vengeance.
Dr. Kimberly Shriner, Huntington’s infectious disease and tropical medical specialist, said last week that the recent wave locally has mirrored past spikes, but on a smaller scale and this time coinciding with other respiratory illnesses like the flu.
Shriner said vaccinations and natural immunity in the population have helped keep numbers lower this time and encouraged people to stay up to date with their shots.
“That’s probably one of the reasons we’re seeing quite a bit of disease, I think people have kind of gotten that vaccine fatigue,” she said. “I think we’re probably under the impression that once they’ve had the first two or three that that’s going to do it for life, but unfortunately it’s just gonna be like the flu — in fact, even maybe a little bit more challenging than the flu since you have to get vaccinated every six months to certainly every year.”
Pasadena public health officials encouraged folks to find ways to limit exposure and discourage spread. The department was pivoting off of the California Department of Public Health action on Jan. 9, updating the State Public Health Officer Order for COVID-19 Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. The updates reflected changes to home isolation guidance for people who test positive for COVID-19, recommended testing for close contacts, and the definition of “infectious period” for isolation purposes.
PPHD summarized the isolation guidance in a Friday news release, pertaining to anyone who tests positive for COVID-19, including those who are asymptomatic:
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- Stay home if you have COVID-19 symptoms until you are fever-free for 24 hours without using fever-reducing medication AND other COVID-19 symptoms are mild and improving. If you do not have symptoms, follow the recommendations below to reduce exposure to others.
- Mask when you are around other people indoors for the 10 days after you become sick or test positive (if no symptoms). You may remove your mask sooner than 10 days if you have two sequential negative tests at least one day apart. Day 0 is either the symptom onset date or positive test date.
- Avoid contact with people at higher-risk for severe COVID-19 for 10 days. Higher-risk individuals include the elderly, those who live in congregate care facilities, those who have immunocompromising conditions, and those with other conditions that put them at higher risk for serious illness.
- Seek treatment if you have symptoms, particularly if you are at higher risk for severe COVID-19, by speaking with a healthcare provider as soon as you test positive. You may be eligible for antiviral medicines or other treatments for COVID-19. COVID-19 antiviral medicines work best if taken as soon as possible, and within 5-7 days from when symptoms start.
PPHD also recommended these protective measures:
- Test if you have are a close contact to someone who is a confirmed case for COVID-19immediately if you have symptoms and within 3-5 days of their last exposure date if you are not symptomatic. With easy access to at-home testing for COVID-19, it is important for individuals to assess their status if they have respiratory symptoms or had a known exposure to a person infected with COVID-19.
- Workplaces, organizations and schools have the ability to implement more protective policies to protect their employees, students and customers, including adhering to the prior guidance on isolation for those testing positive for COVID-19.
- With respiratory viruses expected to remain in circulation for weeks to come, it’s not too late to get the updated COVID-19 and flu vaccines. Both vaccines remain effective at reducing severe illness and are recommended for everyone 6 months and older.
