By Jorge Casuso

July 20, 2021 -- Coronavirus cases in Santa Monica surged to 120 last week, the highest weekly level in more than five months, although virus related deaths have remained steady.

The current surge comes five weeks after the city of 93,000 recorded a weekly low of seven cases in the week ending June 13, according to data provided by the LA County Public Health.

The number of cases last week matched the 120 cases reported during the first week in February, when the city, as well as the nation, was experiencing a steady decrease in infections from a January peak.

While the Delta variant currently boosting the case numbers is considered highly contagious, its fatality rate is lower than previous strains.

As of Monday, Santa Monica had 183 virus-related deaths, a number that has remained steady since May 2. There have been 5,142 laboratory confirmed cases in the city of 93,000.

The number of deaths in the County of more than 10 million has also remained low -- with 44 deaths reported last week, or an average of six per day.

That compares with a record 1,563 weekly virus-related deaths during the week of January 11, or an average of 223 per day.

The number of those who are seriously ill has also plummeted, in part because those contracting the Delta variant are by and large younger, according to health experts and available data.

There are currently 544 people with COVID-19 hospitalized, with 22 percent -- or about 120, in the ICU. That is double the number two weeks ago, when there were 273 people hospitalized with the virus.

Still, the number is far below the approximately 8,000 people hospitalized with the coronavirus during the January surge, when there were about 1,760 patients with the virus in the ICU.

“Most of the illness and death experienced among L.A. County residents from COVID-19 is preventable because of the vaccines current availability," said LA County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer.

"And while the vaccines are not perfect at preventing all infections and illness, they continue to offer a powerful tool for reducing transmission.

"Adding masking for everyone indoors provides an additional layer of protection to counter the very infectious Delta variant," Ferrer said.

Under a County health order that took effect Saturday at 11:59 p.m., face masks must be worn indoors regardless of vaccination status ("Face Masks Must Be Worn Indoors in Santa Monica Again," July 15, 2021).

According to County Health officials, masking "is required in all indoor public places, venues, gatherings, and businesses (including offices, retail, restaurants, gyms, theaters, family entertainment centers, meetings, and state and local government offices serving the public).

"Standard exceptions apply for children under the age of two, for those with certain medical conditions or disabilities that prevent masking, and for those whose job doesn’t permit masking," officials said.

Over the past seven days, Santa Monica's "Emergency Order Compliance Group" -- composed of code enforcement officers and health ambassadors -- conducted 244 compliance checks and 227 face covering checks.

As of Friday, 5,821,915 LA County residents over the age of 16, or 69.9 percent, had been injected with at least one dose of the vaccine, according to County Health data.

In Santa Monica, 64,431, or 79 percent, were vaccinated.

To date there is a total of 1,270,886 laboratory confirmed cases of COVID-19 in LA County and 24,587 virus related deaths.