Did the Los Angeles Lakers title celebration lead to COVID-19 cases?

In this Oct. 11, 2020, file photo, fans in Los Angeles celebrate after the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Miami Heat in Game 6 of basketball’s NBA Finals to win the championship. | Jintak Han, Associated Press

Los Angeles County health officials said the Los Angeles Lakers’ title win may have led to COVID-19 cases.

Health officials in the Los Angeles area suggested that the recent celebrations over the Los Angeles Lakers’ NBA title win may have led to more coronavirus cases.

What happened

Los Angeles County Department officials told USA Toda it is “highly likely” that watch parties and celebrations for the Los Angeles Lakers could have caused a spike in COVID-19 cases in the area.

• The department told USA Today.“It is impossible to determine the exact exposures that contributed to this increase. However, it is highly likely that gatherings to watch and/or celebrate the Lakers, along with any other gatherings that occurred 2-3 weeks ago where people weren’t wearing face coverings and were in close contact with each other, contributed to the rise in L.A. County cases.’’

A look at the numbers:

• The county saw under 1,000 new cases per day in early October, according to the Los Angeles Times.
• Those numbers jumped to 1,200 last week.
• Los Angeles County saw totals of more than 300,000 total cases and 7,000 deaths as of Monday, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Dodgers warning

The department warned fans to stay safe in Los Angeles especially if the Los Angeles Dodgers win the World Series this week.

• “As fans continue to watch and celebrate the mighty L.A. sport teams, we are mindful that if individuals are not adhering to the health officer order requirements of distancing, infection control and masking, cases will continue to rise which, unfortunately, not only leads to increased illness and deaths, but also slows down our recovery journey,’’ the department told USA Today.

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