“Cases May Have Begun To Level Off,” Says Top Los Angeles Health Official; Covid Numbers Rising More Slowly

Lesley McKenzie Managing EditorBleach London, the cult salon known for spearheading the dip-dye trend and its kaleidoscopic DIY colors and kits, has debuted its first stateside salon and storefront in L.A., at 8024 W. 3rd St.

Outfest has announced the award winners of its 2021 Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ Film Festival.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck headed out on the town.The couple attended a production of at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood on Friday night. The pair was accompanied by their kids, as well as Affleck's mother, Christine Anne Boldt.

In March 2021, when Americans first began hearing about the Delta variant of Covid-19, breakthrough infections among fully-vaccinated Angelenos accounted for just 2% of that month’s case total. By June, when Delta accounted for 50% of all variants in Los Angeles, breakthrough infections among fully-vaccinated residents had risen to 20% of all identified cases.

Los Angeles County reported another 35 Covid-related deaths today, pushing the county’s death toll from the virus over the 25,000 mark. That makes it far-and-away the leading cause of death in the region.

On Wednesday, Los Angeles County reported more than 4,000 new daily Covid cases for the first time since January. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed 4,046 new cases of Covid-19 and 34 new deaths. New Covid cases in Los Angeles have been ranging a few hundred above and below the 3,000 mark for more than a week.

The Los Angeles City Council voted today to require Covid-19 vaccinations for all city employees except for those who have medical or religious exemptions. It’s the second Covid-related mandate the council has passed in the past week.

With the Los Angeles Unified School District requiring students and staff to undergo Covid-19 testing, baseline screening conducted in the past two weeks uncovered more than 3,600 positive cases.

UPDATE: Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer has responded to a report that he had a sexual assault allegation filed against him by a woman in Ohio. The Washington Post report making the allegations arrived two days before a hearing involving a California woman’s temporary restraining order against Bauer, who is currently on administrative leave from the team.

The first case of the much-talked-about Lambda variant of Covid-19 was reported by Los Angeles health officials on Thursday. But for all the fanfare, Lambda doesn’t seem to have been much of a match for Delta – yet.

With the bulk of new Covid-19 infections occurring among the unvaccinated, the pace of Los Angeles County residents being hospitalized due to the virus has begun rising at an equivalent rate of new cases, while the rate of people dying is also creeping higher, according to figures released today.

Maggie Q is stepping out for the premiere of her new movie!

The number of people hospitalized in Los Angeles County with Covid-19 rose to its highest level since late February today, continuing an upward trend that has seen hospitalizations increase by more than 700% since the majority of coronavirus restrictions were lifted statewide in mid-June.

In the past two weeks, daily hospitalizations in Los Angeles County related to Covid-19 have nearly doubled according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. On Monday, there were 1,437 people hospitalized with Covid-19; on Monday, July 26 there were 745 people hospitalized with Covid-19. See graph below for a general idea of the increase in the past three months.

As Delta variant cases continue at high levels in Los Angeles County, outbreaks on sets, studio lots and facilities continue as well.

Selome Hailu editor“Reservation Dogs,” FX’s new comedy about Indigenous teens in rural Oklahoma co-created by Taika Waititi and Sterlin Harjo, is breaking ground for Native American representation in Hollywood.

On-location filming in Los Angeles continued its rebound in the second quarter of 2021 after reaching pre-pandemic levels in each of the last two quarters, according to FilmLA, the city and county film permit office. This year’s second quarter – April through June – was the best quarter since late-2019.

All Los Angeles County employees will be required to be vaccinated against Covid-19 by Oct. 1 under an executive order issued by Board of Supervisors Chair Hilda L. Solis. The order goes beyond many of the recent orders from other officials at the federal, state and local levels in that it does not make an accommodation for those who do not wish to be vaccinated.

Proof of at least partial vaccination against Covid-19 would be required to enter public indoor spaces in the city of Los Angeles, including restaurants, bars, gyms, concert venues, movie theaters and even “retail establishments,” under a proposal introduced Wednesday by City Council President Nury Martinez.