This webpage is dedicated to information on the Corvid-19 Crisis as it relates to Palos Verdes. It was last updated on February 20th, 2022

Governor Newsom has proclaimed last week that Covid-19 will now be treated as endemic rather than pandemic. After 446th editions, and given that, PVrrg thinks it a natural point to pause, cease the weekly reporting, and reflect on where we are and how far we’ve come.

CASES: The surge in cases due to the Omicron variant has dropped dramatically, although it is still at levels exceeding much of 2020 and 2021. We should celebrate the progress, but we should not become complacent by abandoning masks in indoor spaces with poor ventilation and neglecting to get vaccinations and boosters which have a compelling role in reducing fatalities and severe cases with long-lasting complications.

The cumulative case rate by City shows all the South Bay Cities doing better than Los Angeles and New York City, with the cities on the Palos Verdes Peninsula doing better than the Beach cities:

HOSPITALIZATIONS: Compared to people over 18 years old with two vaccines and a booster, unvaccinated Americans are 44 times more likely to be hospitalized:

DEATHS: The death count in Los Angeles County is coming down but remains higher than any point in the pandemic other than the surge in January 2021:

The mortality rate in Los Angeles County of 0.32% this past week is dramatically lower compared to early in the pandemic when it exceeded 10%. This is due to the impact of vaccinations and boosters on reducing the severity of Covid-19 for those that have been vaccinated and boosted, as well as advances in therapies that reduce the death rate among those hospitalized. 

While the lower death rates locally and across the USA are cause for relief, it is important that we maintain perspective. 

• Every day at the current national death rate of about 2000 we lose 67% as many citizens as we lost on 9/11 (2977).

• Every 17 days we lose as many citizens as we lose in a typical flu season

Many are now considering that Covid-19 is no more of an ongoing threat than seasonal flu. But while the death rate is down to 3.2%, that is still well above the average death rate from seasonal flu over the past decade:

Across the South Bay cities, the death rate as a percentage of cases is highest in Rolling Hills, RPV and Torrance:

In terms of deaths per capita, the worst outcomes are in Torrance, RPV and Rolling Hills. However, the deaths per capita across all of Los Angeles is higher than any South Bay city:

VACCINATIONS: While vaccinations seem to be much less effective in preventing infection from Omicron (compared to the previous variants), vaccinations have a huge impact on preventing serious illness, hospitalization and death. Those vaccinated and boosted are 41 times less likely to die from Covid-19, and 3.2 times less likely to test positive.

Most of the South Bay cities have achieved a relatively high vaccination rate, although the percentages have stagnated and are growing the slowest each week compared to earlier in the pandemic. Rolling Hills has the lowest vaccination rate (79.4%). Hats off to Rolling Hills Estates for achieving the highest vaccination rate among the South Bay cities — 96%! The rest of Los Angeles is slowing catching up:

The vaccination rate among all those eligible (5+ years) is relatively high in the South Bay:

For children (5-11 years old) , there is still a lot of room for growth:  

So here’s the current status across Los Angeles:

TAKEAWAYS: We are all anxious to bring “normalcy” back in to our lives. By acting responsibly, we can collectively do that safely. Each person should determine their own risk tolerance. But we all should strive to be respectful of others. This disease will not go away, but hopefully we can learn to live with it.  And hopefully it will not mutate into variants from dangerous and deadly than Omicron.

We trust these charts and analysis have been helpful to you as you navigate the pandemic and try to make fact-based decisions on your activity. Thank you for your consideration.

For analysis of hospitalization and bed capacity in Los Angeles County, click here.

So What Should Your Do? There is NO SILVER BULLET, including vaccines!

On Dec 5th, 2020 the New York Times published an article with advice from epidemiologists from Harvard and other credible institutions. It used an analogy of Swiss Cheese.

For the article, click here.

Links to documents from local government

For an excellent summary from the Los Angeles Times on ”Tracking Coronavirus in California”, click here.

For the County of Los Angeles Covid-19 Surveillance Dashboard, click here.

For the City of Torrance COVID-19 Status Dashboard showing data for 14 nearby cities, click here.

For The City of Palos Verdes Estates webpage on Corvid-19, click here.

For Stats from the County of Los Angeles, click here.

March 27, 2020: City Of Palos Verdes Estates Closures — click here

March 27, 2020: ADDENDUM TO SAFER AT HOME ORDER FOR CONTROL OF COVID-19 Temporary Closure of Public Trails and Trailheads, Beaches, Piers, Beach Bike Paths and Beach Access Points — For Orders click here.

March 26, 2020: Palos Verdes Estates Closes Parking Areas to Help Slow Spread of Covid-19 — click here

For City Mayor Address, click here.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health declared a local and public health emergency in response to coronavirus on March 4, 2020. The World Health Organization (WHO) characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic on March 11, 2020. A pandemic; adjective (of a disease) definition meaning prevalent over a whole country or the world.

Public Health continues to recommend that the public do the following to protect themselves and others from respiratory illnesses: 

• Stay home when you are sick. 

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unclean hands. 

• Limit close contact, like kissing and sharing cups or utensils, with people who are sick. 

• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.

• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash. If you do not have a tissue, use your sleeve (not your hands). 

• Face masks are most effective when used appropriately by health care workers and those directly caring for people who are sick and by people who are sick (source control). 

• Get a flu immunization to prevent influenza if you have not done so this season.

Always check with trusted sources for the latest accurate information about novel coronavirus: 

Los Angeles County Department of Public Health — click here

California Department of Public Health — click here

LA County residents can also call 2-1-1: To view a real-time map of coronavirus cases around the world produced by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering, click here

If you are expecting an Economic Impact Payment, check your mail often to avoid mail theft. For answers to your questions about eligibility, payment amounts, and more, click here

For more information go to LA County Department of Public Health.

Links to National and international resources

World Health Organization — click here

Center for Disease Control — click here