Long Beach health officials are worried about what they may see in the weeks after Labor Day weekend. So far, they’ve seen spikes in COVID-19 cases after each holiday weekend, particularly after the Fourth of July.
Long Beach health officer Dr. Anissa Davis urged residents to be aware of symptoms of COVID-19: fever, sore throat, shortness of breath, and to immediately isolate themselves and get tested if they think they might be sick.
“Pay attention—even more attention—to how you’re feeling,” Davis said at a press conference Thursday.
This follows the requests of county health officials for residents to get tested if they were in a crowded situation over the weekend and didn’t take proper precautions.
City officials reported 49 new COVID-19 cases in Long Beach and three new deaths, bringing the total number of deaths to 230. This comes after the city went two days without reporting any new deaths. A total of 51 Long Beach residents are reported hospitalized from COVID-19, far down from 87 one month ago.
Davis also told residents to get their flu vaccine, this year especially, noting that there is some evidence that the vaccine can help a person be less susceptible to COVID-19. She noted that she is “cautiously optimistic” that the flu season might be mild here because the Southern Hemisphere of the world already had theirs and it was milder than usual. The flu usually starts in the Southern Hemisphere earlier, giving scientists in the Northern Hemisphere an idea of what flu season will be like, she said.
The city will be offering community flu vaccine clinics at two of the city’s testing sites starting Oct. 1 through Nov. 21 on Thursdays from 3 to 6 p.m. at Veterans Stadium and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Cabrillo High School. Davis noted that the clinics will give the city practice for when a COVID-19 vaccine is finally released and they have to do mass vaccinations.
Davis also encouraged residents to stay inside as much as possible because of the poor air quality caused by two massive wildfires in Southern California. Avoid rigorous outdoor activity, run the air conditioner if you can, but avoid using a swamp cooler or a whole-house fan, as that can bring more smoke in, she said.