LOS ANGELES — Three years to the day after reporting its first confirmed case of COVID-19, Los Angeles County is “in a much better place” in the pandemic — hard-won progress a top health official attributed to vaccination, community immunity resulting from the virus’ rampant spread and development of tools that have blunted some of its worst effects.
In the nation’s most-populous county, reported coronavirus cases have fallen to a level — fewer than 1,000 cases a day — not seen since October, when California enjoyed a lull between last summer’s surge and a shorter-lived spike that began in mid- to late November.
Coronavirus levels measured in the county’s wastewater, a key barometer as many infections are no longer captured in official counts because of the proliferation of at-home tests, also have plummeted in recent weeks.
