Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
British ex-pats and their visitors. LA County should specifically look at the infection rate in that community. Many live in Santa Monica? Actors and musicians who work internationally, too. It seems like they've had more cases than most other non-essential occupations, and LA probably has one of the top 2 concentrations of them in the USA (the other location is New York City).
I hope this is allowed to stand. I know there’s two other threads but I posted this in one of them a week ago and didn’t get an answer. There’s a lot of extraneous noise in those threads.
Please keep politics out of this. I’m basically only seeking answers, and even plausible explanations are ok if they are backed with facts and/or expertise.
Proportionally, LA County has way more Covid 19 related cases and deaths. Please please please don’t bring up population as to why we have more cases and deaths. Per capita, we have disproportionally more than the other CA counties and I haven’t been able to understand why.
I’ve heard people cite density, but we are not more dense than SF, which has proportionally way fewer cases and deaths than we do. I’ve heard people cite the number of blue collar service workers in LA County, but I’ve seen no evidence that similar rates exist in comparable neighborhoods in OC, SB, Riverside, or San Diego.
The one that has me intrigued is that there are more elder assisted living centers and homes in LA County than elsewhere. That may make sense as Dr. Ferrer has said something like 40-50% of the deaths in LA County are in those types of facilities. Still I am not aware of factual evidence that this is the answer.
Also I would not entirely lean on the idea that LA County has greater testing as that would not account for the number of deaths(unless someone could show me a spike in deaths in other California counties corresponding to what should be recorded as Covid related deaths)
Reasons why LA might have a much higher rate per capita than its neighbors:
Hispanics are a majority In Los Angeles and many were younger, less informed and oblivious to its risks.
Falsely believing they would all be unaffected (I witnessed many young Hispanics in late February who acted as though nothing was happening, seemingly oblivious).
Some minority groups such as African Americans during the early days of the pandemic were being lied to in social media. For example, go to YouTube and search for melanin and coronavirus. You will fund countless videos from that time period telling people that melanin provided protection, even immunity.
Los Angeles has much heavier bus/metro use, much vaunted by some, but a disaster in the age of pandemics.
Living in close proximity to others, often many in one dwelling, often in multi-generational homes.
Less healthy diets than in places like OC or the West Side, on average.
Fewer green spaces than suburbia.
More concentrated population centers facilitate spread.
Location: The edge of the world and all of Western civilization
984 posts, read 1,125,913 times
Reputation: 1689
Quote:
Originally Posted by CA4Now
That could definitely be a factor. Also, if you look at Census figures, L.A. County is comprised of many more residents who fall into lower socioeconomic categories. (For the same reason that Orange County has fewer confirmed cases and a lower death rate.)
I don't agree with the other suggestion--not yours--that pollution is a major factor, since Riverside and San Bernardino Counties have worse air quality and their COVID-19 death rates are not as high as ours.
I don't think there's any one reason, at least not going by the OP's criteria. I don't know what the rate is of people who need to be physically present at a job (as opposed to working from home) in LA County compared to other counties. See below, but I think the OP is trying to adjust data to suit and justify his perspective.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnG72
You misunderstood my post. My point was, the first explanation people come up with is that LA County has more people.
I already accounted for that before I posted and LA County has per capita both more infected as well as more deaths. I didn’t factor in the tiniest of counties because small populations can be skewed by fairly small abnormalities.
I didn't misunderstand your post, you're just trying to warp information and statistics; it's as if you're interchanging actual numbers with rate. For example, as of right now California has reported 3,208 deaths from COVID-19—in actual numbers, that puts the state at 8th highest in number of deaths, but the death rate is 8 per 100,000 people, which is disproportionately low (ex. out of deaths per 100,000 people, Pennsylvania is 35, Louisiana is 54, Tennessee is 4).
When you say you didn't factor in small counties, it certainly reinforces my assertion that you want the data to reflect some judgment you've made. Let's take for example that state people seem to love as a role model: Texas. It's reporting low infection and death rates. Does that mean they're doing something right? Absolutely not. Its testing rate is one of the worst in the country, and only recently has it expanded testing. If testing is more widespread, more cases will be found.
You could also point to the fact that this is an election year, and there's an interesting correlation between testing and political leanings of governors. You said to not make it political, but you have to acknowledge that this does seem to be affecting responses to the virus. It's sort of like just sweeping it under the rug and hoping that by pretending it doesn't exist, voters will ignore it.
For whatever reason, you could go by Occam's razor, but you're choosing to ignore the most logical reasons for numbers.
About half of the California coronavirus deaths are in Los Angeles, which according to the current city population is about 13 deaths per 100,000 people.
The high rate of infections is indisputable and almost as important.
I don't think there's any one reason, at least not going by the OP's criteria. I don't know what the rate is of people who need to be physically present at a job (as opposed to working from home) in LA County compared to other counties. See below, but I think the OP is trying to adjust data to suit and justify his perspective.
I didn't misunderstand your post, you're just trying to warp information and statistics; it's as if you're interchanging actual numbers with rate. For example, as of right now California has reported 3,208 deaths from COVID-19—in actual numbers, that puts the state at 8th highest in number of deaths, but the death rate is 8 per 100,000 people, which is disproportionately low (ex. out of deaths per 100,000 people, Pennsylvania is 35, Louisiana is 54, Tennessee is 4).
When you say you didn't factor in small counties, it certainly reinforces my assertion that you want the data to reflect some judgment you've made. Let's take for example that state people seem to love as a role model: Texas. It's reporting low infection and death rates. Does that mean they're doing something right? Absolutely not. Its testing rate is one of the worst in the country, and only recently has it expanded testing. If testing is more widespread, more cases will be found.
You could also point to the fact that this is an election year, and there's an interesting correlation between testing and political leanings of governors. You said to not make it political, but you have to acknowledge that this does seem to be affecting responses to the virus. It's sort of like just sweeping it under the rug and hoping that by pretending it doesn't exist, voters will ignore it.
For whatever reason, you could go by Occam's razor, but you're choosing to ignore the most logical reasons for numbers.
Apparently you did misunderstand which is funny because literally no one else did.
I asked why LA County specifically has such a high rate of infection and deaths compared to other places in California, particularly neighboring counties.
I don’t understand why you are basically arguing with yourself.
Location: The edge of the world and all of Western civilization
984 posts, read 1,125,913 times
Reputation: 1689
Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnG72
Apparently you did misunderstand which is funny because literally no one else did.
I asked why LA County specifically has such a high rate of infection and deaths compared to other places in California, particularly neighboring counties.
I don’t understand why you are basically arguing with yourself.
I gave you several reasons, but you chose to ignore them. A quick look at your posting history also shows you often tend to think people miss your point.
You want additional reasons other than some factors that just work against LA County, including its sheer size and mobility within the county, plus expanded testing to reflect confirmed cases compared to other parts of the state or country. Do you just need or want someone to blame? Do you not want to question why LA County is doing relatively well on the national level?
I know you want to control the narrative and focus solely on the state (as you've also disagreed with others who aren't answering the way you want them to), but I'm going to guess you aren't questioning why LA County has fairly low numbers despite its size, whereas many other urban centers across the country (which also aren't testing as much) have rates similar to or worse than LA County.
Los Angeles County public health officials on Sunday reported 695 new coronavirus cases and 29 more related deaths.
Though the overall number of cases continues to rise in L.A. County, the rate at which new cases are reported appears to have plateaued, even as testing has increased. The average number of deaths reported each day has declined slightly. And L.A. has so far avoided a sharp surge in hospitalizations that could risk overwhelming the healthcare system, as seen in other places such as New York.
I gave you several reasons, but you chose to ignore them. A quick look at your posting history also shows you often tend to think people miss your point.
You want additional reasons other than some factors that just work against LA County, including its sheer size and mobility within the county, plus expanded testing to reflect confirmed cases compared to other parts of the state or country. Do you just need or want someone to blame? Do you not want to question why LA County is doing relatively well on the national level?
I know you want to control the narrative and focus solely on the state (as you've also disagreed with others who aren't answering the way you want them to), but I'm going to guess you aren't questioning why LA County has fairly low numbers despite its size, whereas many other urban centers across the country (which also aren't testing as much) have rates similar to or worse than LA County.
Certain chronic health conditions are said to place people at high risk for the development of severe COVID-19 symptoms.
Taking these factors into consideration, Los Angeles County residents are said, nationally, to be at the "Lowest Risk" for the development of severe COVID-19 complications. Other parts of the country may see more serious problems as the virus spreads there.
Where Chronic Health Conditions and Coronavirus Could Collide
By Nadja Popovich, Anjali Singhvi and Matthew ConlenMay 18, 2020 https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...gtype=Homepage
Quote:
As the new coronavirus continues to spread over the next months, and maybe even years, it could exact a heavy new toll in areas of the United States that have not yet seen major outbreaks but have high rates of diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure and other chronic health conditions.
Large parts of the South and Appalachia are especially vulnerable, according to a health-risk index created for The New York Times by PolicyMap, a company that analyzes local health data. The index for the first time identifies counties with high rates of the underlying conditions that increase residents’ risk of becoming severely ill if they are infected with the coronavirus.
Even in lower-risk counties, a significant proportion of the population is living with these conditions.
[Image]
Public health experts warn that these areas may not be adequately prepared for new waves of infection, even as some have lifted restrictions meant to curb the spread of the virus.
“Places that have not seen a lot of infection yet should be thinking about what infection is going to mean once they have an outbreak there,” said Micaela E. Martinez, a professor at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.
"Taking these factors into consideration, Los Angeles County residents are said, nationally, to be at the "Lowest Risk" for the development of severe COVID-19 complications. Other parts of the country may see more serious problems as the virus spreads there."
I wonder how L.A. County residents rank within the state in regard to this.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
