Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, March 11, 2023

10 Mountain View News Saturday, March 11, 2023 10 Mountain View News Saturday, March 11, 2023 
Peter Dills Knows 
WHO WAS ST. PATRICK? 

While images of St. Patrick usually depict him driving the snakes 
out of Ireland, the Emerald Isle's patron saint is better known as 
the man who converted Ireland to Christianity in the 5th century. 
Born in Britain, St. Patrick was smuggled into Ireland by British 
Pirates who sold him into slavery. After six years Patrick escaped 
Ireland and returning to his home country but he was overcome 
by a miracle of sorts that witnessed him returning to Ireland to 
preach the gospels and build Christ’s church. Though St. Patrick's 
Day, March 17, marks the anniversary of his death it is a day of celebrating 
Irish culture and the celebration of “Ireland’s Apostle.” 

Guinness was founded in Dublin in 1759, and first brewed by Arthur 
Guinness. Mr. Guinness started by brewing Dublin ale but 
soon diversified into 'porter' — so-called because of its popularity 
with market porters. 

Guinness boasts breweries in 51 countries and Guinness stout is 
sold in 150 countries across the globe, with 10 million glasses of 
stout being enjoyed each and every day. I will bet my pot of gold, St. Patrick’s Day sees Ireland 
taking care of that number all by themselves. 


I can’t remember the last Irish wine I tasted but that is of little 
concern as the country of Ireland is ruled by beer. A good Irishmen 
has a personality as large as the earth, so it should not astonish 
anyone of visual power that Irish beer is discovered most 
every place known to the sun. Guinness has been around for 
over 300 years, but believe it or not, as my honest Irish friends 
say, “Budweiser is as popular as leprechauns and gold”. I recommend 
purchasing and keeping the Guinness at room temperature 
and placing it in the refrigerator only before you are ready 
to drink. The instructions to preparing your beer are found in 
typical Irish sense, can side, and when observed this Guinness 
gospel you’ll notice a significant difference in the flavor of your 
brown can of happiness. Two hours in the refrigerator is ideal 
for drinking. 
For the perfect pour I prefer to pour the beer in a clean non-chilled glass over a spoon. Even 
though Guinness is brunette brown, the calories and the alcohol content are relatively low and 
even less than Coors or Budweiser. A celebratory beer to drink on St. Patrick’s Day and you 
won’t be too bloated by the festivities. If you have never tasted Guinness before imagine unsweetened 
chocolate with a hint of roasted flavor at the margins. 

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day 


LOS ANGELES COUNTY ALIGNS WITH STATE ON NEW COVID-
19 GUIDELINES; LOCAL ORDERS WILL ADDRESS ENHANCED 
PROTECTIONS IN HIGH-RISK SETTINGS 

-1,073 New Positive Cases and 11 New Deaths Due to COVID-19 in Los Angeles 
County 

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health will align with the following new 
guidance issued by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH): 

· Masking – With current COVID case and hospitalization levels, masking for the generalpublic is based on individual preference. Vulnerable populations, including people who areelderly, immunocompromised, or have underlying health conditions, and those who havecontact with them should consider masking in indoor public spaces. 

· Vaccination – On April 3, CDPH will rescind COVID-19 vaccination orders for workers atcorrectional, detention, and adult care facilities. 

· Isolation – Starting March 13, individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 should 
continue to isolate (stay home) for 5 days and may leave isolation after day 5, as long as theyhave been fever-free for 24 hours (without the use of fever-reducing medicines) and theyeither have no symptoms or their symptoms are mild and improving. A negative COVID-19test is no longer required to leave isolation between days 6-10. The Department of PublicHealth strongly recommends that people test negative prior to leaving isolation between days 
6-10. 

Infected people should wear a well-fitting mask around others for a total of 10 days. People 
may now discontinue wearing a mask around others between days 6-10 if they have two sequential 
negative tests taken at least one day apart. 

· Quarantine – Starting March 13, it is strongly recommended but not required that a personwho is a close contact to a person with a confirmed case of COVID-19 wears a well-fittingmask around others for a total of 10 days, especially in indoor settings or when near those 
who are at high risk for severe illness. It is recommended that close contact tests as soon as 
possible to determine infection status and then, if negative, test again within 3-5 days afterthe last known exposure. 

The Department of Public Health will continue to assess the impact of COVID-19 and to 
protect the county’s most vulnerable residents by continuing to require robust COVID-19 
case and cluster reporting by worksites, schools, and healthcare facilities to the Department 
of Public Health. The ongoing case and cluster reporting requirements are intended to help 
Public Health officials quickly identify sectors where there may be increased COVID-19 
transmissions and take action to prevent unmitigated spread. 

Public Health will also continue enhanced protective measures in healthcare settings. Specifically, 
Public Health will continue to require: 

· Healthcare workers to be vaccinated and boosted and wear a mask during patient care orworking in patient care areas. This requirement will be re-assessed by the end of September 
2023. 

Monitoring LA County Early Alert Signals, including observing wastewater and new variant 
trends, and examining emergency department visit metrics will also continue in addition to 
COVID-19 surveillance in high-risk settings 

Public Health will continue to work to provide free vaccinations, boosters, testing and treatment, 
regardless of immigration or insurance status. 

Los Angeles County remains in the CDC’s Low COVID-19 Community Level for the eighth 
consecutive week. This includes a 7-day case rate of 57 new cases per 100,000 people, a decrease 
from the week prior. The 7-day total for new COVID-19 hospital admissions per 
100,000 people is currently 5.9, a small decrease from last week. And the 7-day average of 
the proportion of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients is now 3.7%, down 
from the week prior. 

Even with less stringent guidelines, Los Angeles County residents are strongly recommended 
to stay up to date on vaccines and boosters, test before gatherings and get treatment and 
stay home when sick. The updated bivalent booster has been shown to significantly reduce 
hospitalizations and deaths when compared to individuals who had been vaccinated but had 
not received the updated booster. During the 30-day period ending February 21, people who 
were vaccinated against COVID-19, yet had not received the bivalent booster, were over 3 
times less likely to be hospitalized compared to people who were unvaccinated and 1.5 times 
more likely to be hospitalized compared to those who had the updated booster as well. 

Find a location to get boosted at VaccinateLACounty.com, VacunateLosAngeles.com (en 
español). 

Telehealth services to connect residents to COVID-19 medication can be reached at 833-5400473, 
8:00 a.m. – 8:30 p.m.; 7 days a week. 

“To those who have lost a loved one to COVID-19, please accept my heartfelt sympathies 
during this difficult time. May their memories be a source of comfort and strength,” said 
Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.Ed., Director of the Los Angeles County Department of 
Public Health. “As we move forward, I share with many others the goal of keeping each other 
safe and healthy by making sure that critical resources remain available. Because we now 
know so much more about COVID-19 – how it spreads, who is most vulnerable, and how we 
can prevent severe illness, which can also help decrease the risk for long COVID and help to 
avoid future health issues that may arise from a COVID infection – it remains important to 
work together to keep transmission low.” 

Today, Public Health reported 11 additional deaths and 1,073 new positive cases. Today’s 
case count includes one week’s worth of cases (266) from Long Beach, as that jurisdiction 
has moved to weekly reporting. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 35,814. 
There are 604 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. 

A wide range of data and dashboards on COVID-19 from the Los Angeles County Department 
of Public Health are available on the Public Health website at http://www.publichealth.
lacounty.gov 

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