LA County’s Winter COVID-19 Surge Muted in Some Affluent Areas

The surge in coronavirus cases that overwhelmed Los Angeles this winter was felt far less in certain, more affluent areas of the county, including East Pasadena, it was reported today.

In a stark look at the disparity, the Los Angeles Times examined weekly case rates between Nov. 15 and Jan. 15 — a period in which cases rose by 460% overall in the county — and found that many areas experienced far smaller increases, including three areas where cases rose by less than 100%.

Areas with smaller increases included:

East Pasadena (167%)
Palisades Highlands (25%)
West Hollywood (46%)
Agua Dulce (70%)
Malibu (108%)
Del Aire (150%)
Encino (169%)
Hollywood Hills (185%)
Rancho Park (186%)

The article did not list the number of cases involved in the increases.

Those areas feature lower-density housing than communities in low-income areas in South and East L.A. and the northeast San Fernando Valley, where cases skyrocketed.

The smaller increases in those areas could be an argument against efforts by Sacramento lawmakers to build more apartment buildings to escape the city’s housing crisis.

Those who live in the areas cited in the Times study also tend to work in jobs that can typically accommodate remote work, unlike the lower-income areas where people are heavily reliant on the service sector.

Other likely factors cited by the newspaper include the greater presence of parks and open spaces, closer proximity to the ocean and mountain trails, and more aggressive safety regulations enacted by local governments, such as mask mandates passed in Malibu and West Hollywood.