By Jorge Casuso

February 23, 2021 -- The weekly number of coronavirus cases in Santa Monica dropped below 100 for the first time in nearly four months, according to data from the LA County Health Department.

There were 82 COVID-29 cases confirmed in the City last week, reaching the lowest level since 43 cases were reported for the week ending November 1.

Three Santa Monica residents who were infected with the virus died last week, down from six COVID-19-related deaths in each of the previous two weeks. Two additional deaths were confirmed Monday.

Sunday's tally brings the total number of cases in the beach city of 93,000 to 4,251 since the first local case was confirmed March 14. A total of 133 residents have died with the virus.

The drop in both cases and deaths -- which typically take about two weeks to report -- reflects a continuing downward trend in both the city and county.

The seven-day average number of daily cases has dropped to 1,600 a day in LA County after peaking at more than 15,000 cases on January 8, Health officials said.

As of Monday, there were 1,183,378 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and 20,057 deaths.

A total of 2,146 people with COVID-19 were hospitalized, with 31 percent -- or about 665 -- in the ICU, down from about 1,740 in the ICU in mid-December.

Nearly 1,771,000 doses of vaccine have been administered across the county, Health officials reported Monday. Of those vaccinated, 513,586 people have received second doses.

So far, only healthcare workers, residents and staff at long-term care facilities, and those age 65 or older, are eligible to be vaccinated.

Of all those currently eligible for vaccine, 80 percent on average, have received at least one dose, and 23 percent are fully vaccinated, health officials said.

On March 1, workers in the fields of education and childcare, food and agriculture, and emergency services and first responders become eligible to receive vaccinations.

An agreement between The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District and the local teachers union requires vaccines to become available 15 days before elementary schools can begin reopening.

Under the agreement, the schools would be open a maximum of two days a week for limited activities ("District Elementary Schools Could Reopen By Mid-March," February 22, 2021).

As of Monday, 14,953 Santa Monica residents -- or 18.6 percent -- had been vaccinated. That compares with 29.2 percent of Beverly Hills residents and 25.2 percent of Brentwood residents.

Still, like other affluent, predominantly white communities, the vaccination rate far outpaces that of poor minority communities, such as Compton, where 6.7 percent of the residents were vaccinated.

Testing results were available for more than 5,778,000 LA County residents with 19 percent testing positive.