Manhattan Beach Residents Continue To Be Infected With COVID-19

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — Manhattan Beach residents are testing positive for COVID-19 at rates higher than when Los Angeles County residents seemed to get a better handle on not contracting or spreading the deadly coronavirus.

In just two days [since Saturday, Nov. 21], the number of Manhattan Beach residents testing positive for COVID-19 has jumped from 483 to 496, an increase of 13 in two days. By some measures, knowing who has tested positive, and that individual's ability to now respond accordingly so other people aren't infected and others who were in contact with them can be notified to secure a test, is a plus. In other ways, the number simply shows that more people who live in Manhattan Beach have tested positive for COVID-19.

According to a Los Angeles County news release, "Testing results are available for nearly 3,583,000 individuals with 10% of all people testing positive." The county today also "confirms the highest number of new COVID-19 cases with 6,124 new cases reported. Around 1,500 cases are backlog cases due to reporting systems being updated over the weekend."

LA County, just like Manhattan Beach, is experiencing a steeper increase in daily cases of COVID-19 than seen during the summer surge in June and July, according to the news release. From June 20 through July 3, average daily cases increased 43%. From October 31 through November 13, the average daily cases have increased 108%. "Public Health is not confident these numbers will decrease this week since new case numbers reflect actions people were taking a couple of weeks ago."

Additionally, "As cases have increased over the last few weeks, we are also seeing distressing increases in the daily number of people hospitalized for COVID-19. There are 1,473 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 27% of these people are in the ICU. This is a 73% increase from November 7 when the daily number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 was 849."

The county also notes that "In just a two-week period, from October 31 to November 14, we have seen outbreaks in food facilities increase by over 200%. Food facilities includes restaurants, bottling plants, food processing facilities, grocery stores, and other food-related businesses that are operating in the County.

"During the same time period, we have seen a 67% increase in outbreaks at general worksites which include many other worksites, including warehouse facilities, essential office worksites, retailers and manufacturing facilities."