Why Does the City of El Monte Have So Many COVID-19 Cases?
By: El Monte In Time
Tags: El Monte, Los Angeles, Covid 19, San Gabriel Valley, The Present

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March of 2020, El Monte has been one of the cities with the highest count of cases in the San Gabriel Valley and in all of Los Angeles County. And like in many parts of the Country, in California minorities including Latinx, Black, Asian, and Indigenous people are getting sick at higher rates than their white counterparts.

As of Dec. 18th, the County of Los Angeles Public Health have reported a total of 8,977 COVID-19 cases and 210 deaths in the City of El Monte.

After El Monte in Time tracked the daily reported cases of COVID in El Monte, we found there was an increase of 843 new cases reported between the five-day period of Monday Dec. 14th through Friday Dec. 18th, along with five additional deaths.

Source: COVID-19 Daily Cases Based on Reports by the County of Los Angeles Public Health Department ( El Monte in Time )

With a population of more than 115,000 residents, that means almost 8% of the total population in El Monte have tested positive for COVID over the last eight months as of this writing. And one of the biggest increases in cases was seen just during this past week.

Following El Monte, the neighboring city of Baldwin Park has 6,354 cases and the city of West Covina has 6,356 cases. But even so, both cities have a smaller population than El Monte with Baldwin Park having a population of roughly 75,00 and West Covina a population of 105,000.

The only city that El Monte is surpassed by is Pomona, one of the cities on the eastern edge of the SGV. The city of Pomona has reported a total of 12,935 cases since March although the population in the city is higher with over 150,000 residents.

These cities aren’t isolated hotspots as more cases are quickly spiking nationwide and case numbers are going up. But what exactly is causing the city of El Monte and other largely minority cities in the San Gabriel Valley and throughout the US to have such a drastic racial disparity in terms of COVID cases?

The city of El Monte has largely transformed into a majority Latinx and Asian community over the last several decades. The 2019 Census estimate reports that 65.7% of the population of El Monte is Latinx or Hispanic while 28% of the population is Asian alone.

Not surprisingly, in California Asians, Latinxs and Hispanics, along with Blacks make up a disproportionate amount of cases and deaths reported in proportion to their population size.

According to data reported by The COVID Racial Data Tracker by The COVID Tracking Project, in the state of California, Blacks make up 6% percent of the population but make up 4% of reported cases and 7% of reported deaths. While Asians make up 14% of the population and make up 6% of reported cases and 12% of all deaths.

For Latinxs in California, the disparity is even wider. Latinxs and Hispanics make up 39% of the population but make up 57% of all cases and 48% of deaths. Additionally, The COVID Tracking Project also reported that through December 17th, Latinxs and Hispanics have a 4,429 infection rate per 100,000 in California.

In comparison, white people in California are getting infected at a rate of 1,627 per 100,000, while making up 37% of the total population in the State.

The reality of the large racial inequality in COVID infection rates isn’t coincidental. It’s a symptom of pre-existing racism in the United States that always puts minorities at a disadvantage with less opportunities than their white counterparts. According to the CDC, some of the factors that contribute to high COVID-19 infection rates among minorities include things such as lack of access to affordable and proper health, racism, as well as occupational position.

El Monte also happens to be one of the most densely populated urban cities in an already densely populated LA County, with 11,867 residents per square mile.

Greater El Monte is made up of three different zip codes, including 91731, 19732, and 91733. And in each zip code, based on the Los Angeles Times analysis “Mapping the country’s crowded homes,” Greater El Monte’s housing is at least 23% overcrowded.

But that doesn’t provide a concrete answer as to why El Monte has so many cases and is seeing a sharp increase in the last few weeks of 2020.

As the LA Times mentioned in the article, “L.A.’s most crowded neighborhoods fear outbreaks: ‘If one of us gets it, we are all going to get it,’” “Although there is some correlation between crowded areas and those with higher rates of confirmed cases in the county, no clear trend has emerged. For example, wealthy enclaves such as Bel-Air and Palos Verdes Estates have some of the highest infection rates even though a small fraction of homes there are crowded.”

Thus, although overcrowding in housing situation homes likely does increase the transmission rate and puts those in the household at higher risk of contracting the virus, overcrowding or multi-generational housing situation doesn’t necessarily correlate to higher infection rates among minorities.

Another factor that can be related to the high case count in the City are the number of essential workers. Essential workers are naturally at a higher risk for exposure by having to work and interact with a variety of people throughout the work day, and sometimes by being unable to adequately practice social distancing.

In the city of El Monte, as reported in a December 2019 KCET article published in partnership with USC Price Center for Innovation, over 65% percent of residents work in jobs in which they would be considered essential workers. This includes 18% in manufacturing, 9.8% in healthcare, 8.2% in construction, 7.8% in accommodation, and 6.9% transportation and warehousing, among other sectors.

Additionally, in a recent convenience sampling survey conducted through Instagram by El Monte in Time, over 60% of those who participated answered that they worked in a job or position where they are considered an essential worker.

In an El Monte in Time analysis of the number of essential staff workers that have tested positive for COVID in LA County, as reported by the LA Country Public Health Department, staff workers make up over 11,000 cases out of more than 500,000 reported cases in the County, although the cities of Long Beach and Pasadena are excluded. But that’s less than 3% of total cases and again, doesn’t provide any additional answers.

Working in a position where you are considered an essential worker does undoubtedly increase exposure risk but it is also questionable how much exactly, as there are no clear reports on the exact risk of actually contracting the virus as an essential worker.

The reason why El Monte has so many COVID-19 cases in comparison to other cities in the San Gabriel Valley can’t be pinned on one or two single factors as transmission can occur anywhere and even with caution. But it has been established and continuously reported that minorities have higher risks of becoming infected and dying of COVID-19.

El Monte, a majority-minority city, is simply showcasing this reality, that racism and health are intertwined.

The disadvantages that minorities and especially people of color face in our society are only highlighted by the racial disparity in COVID-19 infection and death rates in the United States.