Caution urged for three-day weekend

Los Angeles County public health officials on Saturday reported 220 new coronavirus cases and seven related deaths, while urging all Angelenos who haven’t been vaccinated to follow masking and distancing protocols over Memorial Day weekend.

As California moves toward a full reopening of the economy on June 15 — when nearly all restrictions will be lifted after more than a year — L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer stressed that broadscale vaccination remains the surest path toward prepandemic conditions.

“We are all glad this Memorial Day will look so different from last Memorial Day — it’s such a relief for so many of us to be able to gather with family and friends again,” Ferrer said. “I encourage everyone who hasn’t been vaccinated yet to make time to get vaccinated. The vaccine provides the best protection and is keeping transmission in L.A. County low.”

L.A. County officials have confirmed a total of 1,243,712 coronavirus cases, including 273 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19, and 24,338 deaths.

Across the county, as in most of the nation, Black and Latino people have been hospitalized and died at disproportionately high rates throughout the pandemic. And the disparities continue to widen, according to new data presented by the Department of Public Health showing that Black residents are now three times as likely to die from COVID-19 as white or Asian American residents.

More than 54% of Californians have received at least one shot of a vaccine, according to a Times analysis, while 43% of Californians are fully vaccinated — far shy of the roughly 85% experts say is needed to bring the pandemic under control.

Anyone 12 and older is now eligible for a vaccine. Families looking for information about vaccine sites should visit the city’s website, the county’s site or the Spanish-language site VacunateLosAngeles.com or call (833) 540-0473.