Culver City Observer -

Experiencing the same decline in the rate of infection as Los Angeles County, Culver City recorded 92 new cases of coronavirus and 6 deaths in the past two weeks, the County Health Department has announced.

As of press time yesterday, the number of local residents with Covid-19 rose to 2029 cases, representing only a 4% increase in the past 2 weeks. Deaths related to coronavirus inched up to 77 in Culver City. More than half of the deaths occurred in nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

County-wide, the total infected now stands at 1,174,340 with 19,514 deaths. More than 90% of people who died had underlying health conditions. On Thursday, Public Health Department reported 2,873 new cases of Covid-19 and 153 deaths.

Health officials said the 7-day average of daily cases continues to decline in the county; as of February 9, Covid-19 cases declined by 85% to an average of 2,230 cases per day. Also declining is the average of daily deaths. This number peaked at 229 on January 10, and declined to an average of 91 deaths per day on February 9, representing a 91% decrease.

There are 2,757 people with Covid-19 currently hospitalized and 31% of them are in the ICU. The total represents a 60% decrease from January 8 when hospitalizations peaked above 8,000. The positivity rate has also fallen from 15% in December to 5% yesterday.

"While we share cautious optimism with others, we remain concerned that actions over Super Bowl weekend could lead to another increase in cases starting next week if individuals were not taking precautions," said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. "Each individual and business doing their part to contribute to this decline continues to be the key to reducing transmission in L.A. County."

Nearly 1,541,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered across the county, Public Health said. Of those vaccinated, 399,642 people have received second doses. This means 5.1% of the County's population of 16 and older have now been fully vaccinated.

Public Health also announced it is opening up eligibility for the vaccine to three additional sectors starting on March 1: education and childcare, food and agriculture, and first responders and law enforcement. The county is working with partners to address challenges in vaccinating the more than 1.8 million workers that will be eligible for vaccine, officials said.

Covid-19 vaccine supply remains very limited, Public Health said. For information about vaccine appointments in L.A. County, when your turn is coming up, to sign up for a vaccination newsletter, and much more, visit: http://www.VaccinateLACounty.com.