LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – With effect this Friday, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reduced the attendance threshold for mega-events by half.
According to the revised Health Order, Public Health on 15 January will now classify gatherings as a mega-event if there are 500 participants indoors and 5,000 participants outdoors. The previous attendance thresholds for indoor and outdoor events were 1,000 and 10,000 people, respectively. 
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Some examples of mega-events include sporting events, nightclubs, and concerts that meet or exceed the turnout threshold.
The change in the health order comes during a record increase in COVID-19 cases caused by the Delta and Omicron variants. On Tuesday, officials reported a relative number of cases of 34,827 compared to 43,582 the day before. The positivity rate remained roughly the same at 21% compared to 21.4% on Monday.
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As of Tuesday, there were 3,766 people with COVID-19 in the hospital. According to Public Health, unvaccinated people have an admission rate nine times higher than those who are fully vaccinated but without boosters. Compared to fully vaccinated individuals, with booster shots, Public Health found that unvaccinated individuals were 38 times more likely to be hospitalized.
According to public health data from the end of December, unvaccinated people were 22 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than fully vaccinated individuals.
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