Beach Cities COVID cases take a turn, for the worse
COVID cases in the Beach Cities are accelerating, though not as rapidly as in Los Angeles County as a whole. Source: Los Angeles County Department of Health. Charts by Bernard Wong/Subliminal Machines.com
The Beach Cities continue to see an upward trend in its COVID-19 curve, though not as steep as the surge being experienced by Los Angeles County as a whole.
On Tuesday, the County experienced its largest single day number of new cases, at 7,593, and hospitalizations, at 2,316. In the Beach Cities, cases increased from 3,776 on November 24 to 4,123 on December 1. Over the past two weeks, 660 new cases have arrived in cities of El Segundo, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, and Torrance.
Redondo Beach for the second week in a row set a new record for new cases, increasing from 838 to 928 cases. Manhattan Beach likewise set a new two-week record, with 75 new cases, including 11 on Tuesday.
As COVID cases increase, available ICU beds in local hospitals decline.
Redondo Beach Mayor Bill Brand expressed hope the numbers would finally shock people into following health guidelines intended to curb community spread.
“Hopefully enough people now realize how serious this pandemic has become,” Brand said. “The latest stats surpass our worst fears. This is not a hoax and the South Bay is not a bubble. Wear a mask if you venture outside and avoid gathering inside with anyone outside your household. There is no higher priority right now than our own, individual behavior as we enter the coldest time of year during the worst health crisis in over 100 years.”
Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of the Los Angeles Department of Public Health, said the spike is directly correlated to people not following public health orders.
“We are at the most difficult moment in the pandemic,” Ferrer said. “The alarming increases in cases that we continue to witness is not due to random events out of our control — many of these cases could have been prevented if individuals and businesses were following the straightforward public health measures of masking, distancing and infection control. As we are all seeing, when even relatively small numbers of businesses and individuals fail to adhere to sensible precautions, many others experience the consequences of these lapses.” ER