Eighty-one new COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Santa Monica since May 1, with 42 new cases confirmed in the first week of May, 29 in the second and 10 in the third.
The city now has 245 confirmed cases and 16 deaths. There have been 168 cases and 26 deaths among residents and staff of Santa Monica nursing homes.
Santa Monica's death rate adjusted for its age distribution is 12.4 per 100,000 people, the second-highest death rate among Westside cities, according to a county data dashboard.
Culver City has a death rate of 23 per 100,000 people, Beverly Hill's rate is 7.8, West Hollywood's is 7.3 and Malibu's is 4.5.
Across Los Angeles County, the number of confirmed cases has surpassed 43,000 and more than 2,000 people have died from COVID-19, Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said Friday.
The number of people hospitalized has dropped slightly each day over the last two weeks to roughly 1,500, she said. More than 412,000 people have been tested and 9% have tested positive.
More than 9 in 10 people who have died from COVID-19 had underlying health conditions, and more than 5 in 10 resided in nursing homes.
Ferrer said 1 in 3 county residents have conditions that would put them at greater risk of dying from COVID-19 and those residents should continue to stay at home as much as possible even as the county reopens.
People living in poor communities are four times more likely to die from COVID-19 compared to people living in affluent communities, Ferrer said.
Poor areas have a death rate of 41 per 100,000 people and wealthy areas have a death rate of 11 per 100,000 people.
She said although the number of Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders who have died from COVID-19 is small, they have by far the highest death rate of any ethnic group at 100 per 100,000 people.
African Americans and Latinos have death rates of 26 and 22, while the death rate is 16 for Asians and 13 for whites.
"The data remains deeply disturbing and it will require a lot of collaboration and work with our partners to address these inequities," Ferrer said.
She asked county residents to wear face coverings at all times and maintain at least six feet of space from others if they choose to visit outdoor spaces this holiday weekend.
Whether people continue to take precautions against infection will determine how many new cases, hospitalizations and deaths the county sees in a few weeks from now, Ferrer said. She said the county has been able to trace some new outbreaks to parties and gatherings held over the last couple of weeks.
"Gatherings and events of any kind are still not permitted," she said. "The virus has not changed and it is still relatively easy to become infected."
madeleine@smdp.com
