LOS ANGELES (CNS) — All Los Angeles County employees will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Oct. 1 under an executive order issued Wednesday by Board of Supervisors Chair Hilda L. Solis.

There will be exemptions for medical and religious purposes, Solis said.

The order comes the same day as the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported its highest daily number of new COVID-19 infections since early February, 3,734.

"With the rapid spread of the Delta variant, our daily cases have increased nearly 18-fold and hospitalizations more than five-fold," Solis said.

"As vaccinations continue at a pace slower than what is necessary to slow the spread, the need for immediate action is great."