Los Angeles County Notches a Much-Wanted Goose Egg

It's the number every county hopes to register in the COVID fight: Zero. Los Angeles County on Sunday reported no COVID deaths for the first time in a long time, reports the Los Angeles Times. The newspaper notes that it's possible a lag in reporting times over the weekend might be partly responsible, but it's nevertheless a long-sought milestone for a county that has logged nearly 24,000 COVID deaths over the past year. The county had 390 COVID patients in hospitals over the weekend, a drop of 16% from two weeks ago. The downward trending numbers are why the county is expected to enter the state's least restrictive "yellow" tier this week, reports ABC News.

New stats released on Tuesday are expected to confirm the new status, which will allow businesses to increase capacity. For instance, bars would be allowed to have 25% capacity indoors—current rules allow outdoor patrons only—and fitness centers can jump from 25% indoor capacity to 50%. Roughly 47% of county residents have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine and 31% are fully vaccinated. The county now has a rate of 1.9 new cases per day per 100,000 people, below the necessary threshold of 2 per 100,000 to reach "yellow" status. (The situation, however, remains dire in India, which led to an insensitive social media post by an official Chinese body.)