Manhattan Beach has recorded 26 new COVID-19 cases in the past week, according to data from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (and collected/recorded over time by DigMB). That number represents one of the highest week-over-week increases since the pandemic began.

The total number of cases in Manhattan Beach jumped from 95 on June 20, to 121 on June 27.

Just for comparison, back on June 1, Manhattan Beach only had 80 total cases. So for the first 20 days of June, the number of new cases had only increased by 15. (Remember that the cases reflect the total number of people infected from the beginning.)

The increase can be attributed to a variety of different factors, including public rallies and marches, increased testing, and more businesses opening up.

Yet as additional sectors continue to open up, public officials are calling for caution.

“While we did anticipate increases in cases as sectors reopened, we did not expect the increases to be this steep this quickly," said Barbara Ferrer, Los Angeles County Director of Public Health, in a statement. "Without immediate actions to slow the spread, we risk having too many people requiring hospital care and possibly overwhelming our healthcare system. Preventing the continued surge in cases and hospitalizations calls on each of us to do our part. The time for all of LA County to do the right thing is now. Please don't take a chance infecting someone else - wear a face covering and keep your distance."

Additionally, Ferrer said, "As you may be aware, the data is now showing concerning trends. This week we have seen cases increase, hospitalizations increase, and the positivity rate for testing increase. We also know that the average age of the people who are infected, including those who are newly infected, is trending younger than before. We all need to do better because we can only be safer in the community if we follow the very specific guidelines [the Department of] Public Health has mandated.”

According to health officials, the best protection against COVID-19 is to wash your hands frequently, avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, self-isolate if you are sick, practice physical distancing, and wear a clean face covering when in contact with others from outside your household.

(Don't have a mask? Think your mask is too uncomfortable? There are thousands of different kinds of masks and face coverings out there. We're confident that you can find your new favorite masks in Manhattan Beach.)

If you think you are positive for COVID-19 and are awaiting testing results, stay at home and act as if you are positive. This means self-isolating for 10 days and 72 hours after symptoms and fever subside, or until you receive a negative result. If you test positive for COVID-19, you will  receive a call from a contact tracer to discuss how to protect yourself and others, to find out where you may have been, and who you were in close contact with while infectious.

Those residents who have underlying health conditions remain at much greater risk for serious illness from COVID-19, so they should continue to stay at home as much as possible, to have groceries and medicine delivered, and to call a health care provider immediately if they have even mild symptoms.