L.A. County Public Health Covid-19 Report: 73 New Deaths, 21,709 New Positive Cases

There has been a change in plans for the COVID-19 vaccination policies for the upcoming 2022 Oscars ceremony, which will take place in Hollywood on March 27.

Claudia Eller Co-Editor-in-ChiefAs of this writing, the Motion Picture Academy has yet to officially announce its policy regarding COVID protocols for next month’s Oscar ceremony.Nonetheless, many in the Hollywood community are going on the assumption that The Hollywood Reporter’s Feb. 9 scoop that no proof of vaccination will be required for the March 27 awards show at the Dolby Theatre is already set in stone.

“It seems like when we have something high-profile, like the Super Bowl or the Emmys, the rules just don’t seem to matter any more,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn at a board meeting on Tuesday.

Ethan Shanfeld Los Angeles County is expected to lift its outdoor mask mandate Wednesday following a decrease in the number of hospitalizations due to COVID-19. The indoor mask requirement could be lifted by the end of March if case rates continue to decline.With guidelines imposed earlier this month, L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said the county would lift its mask requirement if hospitalizations remained under 2,500 for seven consecutive days.

Michael Strahan couldn't wait to post photos of his exciting Super Bowl weekend on Instagram, but he likely didn't realize his snapshots would cause such a stir. The Good Morning America host shared several images from the sporting event in Los Angeles as he posed alongside the likes of Don Cheadle and James Corden and took in the amazing halftime show too. MORE: Michael Strahan makes fans nostalgic with Super Bowl tribute video He captioned the post: "What a Super Bowl!!!! Congratulations to the @rams on an incredible season! No doubt one of the greatest halftime shows EVER. Hell of a job, @snoopdogg, @drdre, @kendricklamar, @therealmaryjblige, @eminem & @50cent."WATCH: Robin Roberts shares candid BTS video of Michael Strahan at GMAFans agreed that the show was spectacular, but many were angry about one thing...

Text messages between employees of the management company in charge of Lil Peep's final tour, First Access Entertainment (FAE), have been unsealed in Peep's mother Liza Womack's wrongful death case against the corporation, Pitchfork reports. The messages were included in a 372-page document Womack submitted to Los Angeles County's Superior Court on January 28, and will be reviewed today in a hearing on an FAE motion for summary judgement.

Former MLB star Jeremy Giambi died on Wednesday morning at his parents’ home in southern California.

J. Kim Murphy This year’s Oscars ceremony will not require in-person attendees to provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19, Variety has confirmed.After a 2021 ceremony that saw the Academy Awards downsize to a smaller gathering at Los Angeles’ Union Station, the Oscars will return to its traditional setting in the Dolby Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard for its upcoming ceremony on March 27.

On Sunday, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported 65 new deaths from Covid-19, along with 7,017 new positive cases.

More Covid scheduling grief: The Los Angeles County Superior Court on Thursday postponed its planned Friday morning hearing on a request to open sealed testimony in the Roman Polanski sex case, citing concerns about the surge.

Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer today outlined a framework for reducing Covid mitigation measures as the current Omicron surge falls. She warned however that, even after the surge, the threat level would still be considered “high” and numbers would need to come down further before restrictions are lifted.

The winter Omicron surge is retreating across nearly all key data points in Los Angeles County except one: Deaths. Deaths each of the past two days have moved to near 100 from about 50 earlier in the week. While not an all-time high, those numbers are still substantial, especially when considered in a larger frame offered by public health officials today.

The Los Angeles City Clerk approved a petition for circulation today that aims to have the City Council repeal its requirement that people show proof of vaccination against Covid-19 before entering certain indoor public spaces and outdoor “mega-events.”

Los Angeles Mayor — and Biden Administration ambassadorial nominee — Eric Garcetti today defended his actions after maskless photos surfaced of him and Lakers great Magic Johnson, along with San Francisco Mayor London Breed, at SoFi Stadium last weekend for the NFC Championship game.

One day after Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and were called out for posing for maskless photos inside SoFi Stadium, a Los Angeles County Supervisor today called for state and local health officials to reevaluate Covid mask mandates, saying it should be up to the individual to decide when to wear one.

A touching reminder. Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant were honored at the site of their helicopter crash on Wednesday, January 26, two years after their deaths.

Los Angeles today marked the two-year anniversary of the county’s first-known Covid infection with the tragic news that the virus had taken the life of a 15-month-old child.

The same attributes that helped the Omicron variant of Covid-19 drive a historic rise in cases and then hospitalizations earlier this month in Los Angeles now seem to be precipitating a nearly-as-rapid decline in those same numbers.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media WriterThe protocols that govern film and TV production in the COVID era have been extended yet again, this time to Feb. 13, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said Monday.The rules govern vaccine mandates, masking, quarantining, and other measures to suppress the spread of COVID-19.