Long Beach reports nearly 700 new COVID-19 cases this week - Long Beach Press Telegram | By The Perfect Enemy
Most of Long Beach’s coronavirus metrics slightly decreased this week, keeping the city in the low community transmission tier — as defined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — on Friday, Dec. 30, though virus-related deaths increased again.
“Long Beach has remained in the low CDC Community Level for transmission,” City Health Officer Dr. Anissa Davis said in a Friday statement. “People should continue to be mindful of easy-to-take steps to minimize getting sick or spreading illness.”
The health department reported 694 new coronavirus cases over the past week, according to data posted to the city’s COVID-19 dashboard on Friday. The total number of cases since the pandemic began was 158,687 as of Thursday, Dec. 29.
The data is through Thursday, but the city posted the latest information to its COVID-19 dashboard on Friday.
Long Beach’s community transmission tier was decreased to low after its weekly average COVID-19 case rate fell below 200 per 100,000 people. That metric totaled 173.9 per 100,000 people, according to the most-recent data, down from the 187.7 per 100,000 reported last week.
The city’s daily case rate was 11.9 per 100,000 people this week, the data shows, down slightly from 14.3 the previous week. Long Beach’s positivity rate, though, slightly increased to 13.5% this week, from 12.8% last week.
The two other metrics used to determine community transmission — the seven-day rate of new COVID-19 hospital admissions and the proportion of in-patient beds occupied by those who have tested positive for COVID-19 in hospitals — remained relatively unchanged in Long Beach over the last week, according to the data.
Weekly hospitalizations must meet or exceed 20 per 100,000 people, and 15% or more of inpatient beds must be occupied by COVID-19 patients for a city to be moved into the “high” designation, per the CDC’s website.
In Long Beach, the weekly rate of new COVID-19 hospital admissions totaled 4.71 per 100,000, as of Thursday, and the proportion of in-patient beds occupied by those who have tested positive for COVID-19 in Long Beach-area hospitals was 6.9%, according to city data.
The number of Long Beach residents in hospitals and have tested positive for the coronavirus also declined slightly this week, dipping to 36 as of Thursday, compared to the 46 reported last week.
Long Beach’s COVID-19 deaths, on the other hand, increased for the second week in a row.
The city reported six new COVID-19-related deaths as of Thursday, up from three the week prior. The citywide death toll since the pandemic began was 1,353, according to Friday’s data.
Instances of the flu and RSV, meanwhile, were also down this week — though the rates of infection for both remain higher than usual for this time year, according to the health department’s weekly flu and RSV surveillance report. Flu and RSV can both cause severe illness in young children, older adults and those with underlying health conditions.
There have been 2,364 cases of the flu reported in Long Beach this year — with 198 new cases reported during the week ending Dec. 24, the report said. That’s an increase from the 183 new flu cases reported the week prior. RSV transmission has also been on the decline since Nov. 12, the report said, when the city recorded a peak of 25 new cases.
Still, two Long Beach residents died from flu-related complications this week, the report said, bringing this season’s total to eight. No RSV-related deaths have been reported this year.
“Get boosted and vaccinated for flu and COVID; maximize indoor ventilation or gather outdoors,” Davis said. “Test before and after travel, and if you feel sick, wash your hands often and cover your coughs and sneezes.”
COVID-19 inoculation rates in Long Beach, though, have remained largely stagnant for months, despite the health department frequently encouraging residents to stay up-to-date on their shots.
Children aged 5-to-11 remain among the least vaccinated in the city, with 28.8% fully inoculated. That number hasn’t changed in more than two months. Those 65 and older, meanwhile, are the most vaccinated, with a 99% inoculation rate. Only 15.4% of all Long Beach residents have received a bivalent booster.
#Children, #Coronavirus, #Coverage
Published on The Perfect Enemy at https://bit.ly/3vsCelh.
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