Skip to main content

MB News

Manhattan Beach Sees Largest Week-Over-Week Increase in COVID Cases; One New Death

Jan 09, 2022 08:42AM ● By Jeanne Fratello
Manhattan Beach has seen its largest week-over-week increase in COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic, according to figures from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LADPH).

Manhattan Beach also had one additional COVID-19 death, bringing the total to 20 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. (The LADPH does not report details on individual deaths due to privacy laws.)

This week has marked a high for new cases reported, with a total of 537 cases between January 2 and January 8.

 

The city set a record for new daily cases on January 2, with 121 new cases reported. (There was no reporting on January 1.) On both January 5 and January 6,  there were 91 new cases reported, and on January 7 there were 89 new cases.

Those numbers far surpass the growth in cases at this time in 2021, a previous peak, when cases were only growing as fast as 25 per day at the highest, and the highest recorded weekly total was 101, for January 4-10, 2021.

This week's surge parallels a boom in COVID-19 cases county-wide. L.A. County set records two days in a row this week for new COVID-19 cases. On Friday, January 7, L.A. County recorded a total of 43,712 new cases, a new daily record.


Schools Reporting Positive Cases


A large number of positive COVID cases, particularly among younger people, has meant lower attendance for schools.

The MBUSD COVID dashboard (which records positive cases from the last 14 days) shows 87 current confirmed COVID-19 positive student cases and 14 positive staff cases at Mira Costa High School, representing 2.5 percent of the site population.

Additionally, there are 31 positive student cases and 11 positive staff cases at Manhattan Beach Middle School, representing 2.9 percent of the site population.

However, many students have been absent for other reasons including quarantine for exposure to COVID-positive individuals. One Mira Costa teacher estimated that 20 percent of the class was out this week.

There have also been four positive cases, or more than 10 percent of employees, at the MBUSD District Office.

On Friday, MBUSD distributed tests for students to take on Monday, January 10 and Tuesday, January 18 before school.

For others, testing has been hard to come by. Most local drug stores sell out of at-home COVID tests as soon as they receive a shipment.

The popular Sameday Health clinic on Sepulveda, which offers testing appointment slots every five minutes, is currently showing no availability until Wednesday, January 12.



Subscribe to MB News Emails * Don't Miss a Thing, Sign Up Today!

* indicates required
Email Format

Subscribe to MB News Emails * Don't Miss a Thing, Sign Up Today!

* indicates required
Email Format