Yesterday, Whittier 360 reported on the huge spike in cases that made it appear the COVID 19's second wave had arrived in the Whittier Area. There were 172 new infections yesterday.
Some alert readers noted in their own comments that there was apparently a backlog due to a technical glitch in LA County's reporting system that might have contributed to the spike in numbers.
Tonight's data appears to be bear them out, at least for the most part. However it also indicates that for some parts of the Whittier Area, the second wave of COVID 19 really has arrived. So it's a mixed bag apparently.
In the communities bordering the Whittier Area, Downey had 40 new cases today while Norwalk saw 35 new cases. That's clearly spike from what its been for the last 4 weeks. But La Puente only saw 7 new infections.
To be clear some readers said there was difference between cases that might be light and only require home isolation and those cases that required hospitalization. Unfortunately the latter data is not available to us at this time because neither county differentiates between those cases that are mild and those that are serious.
In the Whittier Area the communities with the top 5 spread rates were:
South Whittier 23
Pico Rivera 22
City of Whittier 19 new infections and 1 death
West Whittier, Hacienda Heights, and La Mirada tied at 11 new cases.
As you can see the numbers are up in these particular communities but they have dropped back down to normal in other communities. All together there 108 new infections in the Whittier Area today which appears to justify the statement that the second COVID wave has arrived in Whittier.
This is all happening not only just before Halloween week but it is happening a little more than week before Americans go to the polls to cast judgment on how their elected leaders have handled the pandemic. The election has now become less of an referendum on Trump and more of a referendum on the COVID 19 lockdowns that many Democratic jurisdictions have imposed.
Speaking of elections and COVID 19, the CDC is now preparing to impose tough new COVID 19 measures at polling places just in time for people to vote in person. The federal agency said its inspectors found people were wearing masks incorrectly at polling stations in states that ranged Trump supporting Republican areas to even location in Democrat controlled California. In one location the inspector wrote on their report that they witnessed 22 people voting with their noses uncovered and that 30 had masks that kept falling off their faces because they were not fitted properly or the individuals didn't know how to shape the medical grade masks to their faces. The common medical grade mask has a wire on the top part that is flexible so you can shape it to outline of the top your nose and that helps prevent your glasses from steaming up if you have to wear glasses.
The agency found only 54% of both voters and poll workers wearing the masks correctly. The agency is suggesting that counties put someone at the door to voting facilities to make sure voters are properly wearing masks when inside the voting facility.
The agency found that 96% of the time hand sanitizer was available at voting stations but that 14% of the time it kept running out. The agency is ordering counties to make sure that each voting facility have a large enough stock of sanitizer to last at least two days.
Twenty seven percent of polling workers told the agency they had come into close contact with voters who exhibited symptoms of COVID 19 in the polling places, putting the workers and other voters at grave risk of serious infection from the disease. The agency is reportedly telling counties across the US to allow curbside voting like they do for restaurant and store orders. Of those who came into contact with COVID positive voters, only 30% were properly trained to handle such situation and none were provided with the necessary personal protective equipment for such encounters.
An email from the Los Angeles County Registrar's Office said that the county is requiring voters to wear masks properly and maintain distancing at all times inside the vote centers. The email stated poll workers will be required to wear personal protective equipment at all times and that there will be continuous cleaning of all surfaces and devices. Those of you who will be voting in person can let us know if you are seeing any of this in action at the vote center you go to by sending us email at editor@whittier360newsnetwork.com
In the meantime, those who wish to submit advertisements whether for their favorite candidate or issue or just to promote a local event or sale may send those to advertising@whittier360newsnetwork.com
Tonight's COVID 19 charts:
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