Report from LA (8/19)
It’s very hot and still; fires are burning out of control up in the Bay Area. Covid 19 cases in LA are receding; we are no longer one of the state’s top hot spots. We are not out of the woods either.
There were about 1,000 new cases yesterday. That’s down from about 3,400 a month ago. 60% of cases are for those aged 18-50. 60% of new cases are Latinos. In other words, the spread is among the young and among essential workers without adequate access to personal protective equipment.
There were about 17,000 tests yesterday with a positivity rate of 5.9%; that’s down from about 10% a month ago.
Weekly death rates are down to an average of about 30 a day from over 40 a day less than a month ago. The death rates are still four times as high in poor communities as in well to do neighborhoods. People over 65 account for 72% of our deaths, and people 50-64 account for another 18%.
Hospitalizations are down to 1300 daily from 2200 daily about a month ago, and are down 25% in the last week.
Contact tracing is begun promptly in 98% of new cases, but people are still not cooperating in about 1/3rd of the cases.
The state’s computer glitches in test reporting seem to have been solved, but the slow response in getting test results back have not been resolved.
Stores and outdoor dining are open; it looks to me as if more and more are dining out, but there is not much in store commerce. More of the young are wearing masks, but social distancing seems to be still problematic.
The local beaches are jammed during the weekends with families escaping the heat.
The case rates in nursing homes are way down as they have implemented the safety protocols for staff and patients. The case rates among the homeless in encampments are also low as the precautions in shelters seem to be working. There are lots more people sleeping in tents and in cars as people are losing their apartments.
LAUSD has just embarked on a massive testing of its 500,000 students and 75,000 staff.
Hope you are all well and safe.
Lucien