By Steven Felschundneff | steven@claremont-courier.com

People visiting local bars and breweries will have to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination under a new rule from public health aimed at further reducing transmission of the virus in places where people congregate.

Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued a modified health order on Wednesday creating the rule for these establishments stating that they are, “primarily attended by adults and already require patrons to show identification.”

The modified health officer order would require customers and employees at bars, breweries, wineries, nightclubs and lounges to have received at least one dose of the vaccine by October 7 and both doses by November 4.

Additionally, the order will require anyone attending an outdoor mega event, those with more than 10,000 people, to provide vaccination verification or a negative test within the previous 72 hours. Vaccination verification is already required at indoor mega events.

Countywide there were 1,930 new cases reported on Wednesday, a significant drop from just a few weeks ago. Sadly, 37 more county residents have died. Reflecting a change seen nationwide, people dying from COVID-19 are younger than during previous surges. While 15 of the deaths reported on Wednesday were among those over age 80, 10 were between 50 and 64 and six were between 30 and 49. There have been 25,748 COVID-19 deaths in the county since the pandemic began.

There are 1271 people in L.A. County currently hospitalized with COVID-19 an 18 percent decrease from one week ago.

The outbreak in Claremont is starting to follow the countywide trend, with 38 new infections this week compared with 48 last week. Claremont’s cumulative total is now 2,770 and 61 deaths.