LA County again reports more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases as schools debate return to campus

COMPTON, Calif. (KABC) -- Los Angeles County reported another 1,103 positive coronavirus cases on Tuesday, an indicator that after months of improvement, the trend lines are now moving in the wrong direction.

It marks the fifth day in a row that the county has seen more than 1,000 new cases in a single day. By comparison, one month ago the county was seeing an average of 201 new cases per day.

The disturbing trend of new cases comes as school officials throughout the state debate the best way to keep students safe this fall - and the proper way to enforce protocols.

At first state officials issued a rule that said students who don't wear masks couldn't be on campus. Just a few hours later that rule was changed. There is still a mask mandate at K-12 schools but now the state says local school districts can make their own decisions about enforcing rules for students who refuse to wear masks.

Compton Unified School District, for one, announced plans for classes to resume Aug. 19 with in-person, on-campus learning for all students. The district will follow state and county guidance.

"The objective is to make sure that we maintain a high level of safety for children," said Compton school board president Micah Ali. "And again whatever the guidance comes down we will indeed follow it. Our objective is to make certain that all are safe in an environment that encourages learning."

Since the start of the pandemic, Los Angeles County has seen more than 1.2 million cases of COVID-19 and 24,554 deaths from the virus. There are 376 patients hospitalized with the virus in local hospitals.

"It's clear that COVID-19 is still with us and that we are dealing with a more infectious variant and the best collective action that each of us can take is to get vaccinated against COVID-19 if you're eligible," said Dr. Muntu Davis with the county health department.