COVID-19 Risk Maps
Identifying high risk communities across the City of Los Angeles
As Los Angeles continues to shelter in place to combat the spread of COVID-19, the Data Team wanted to explore where high risk communities are located across the City. According to the CDC, people aged 65 or older and people with underlying medical conditions are at high risk for severe illness or poor health outcomes with COVID-19.
Using the CDC's 2018 Social Vulnerability Index , we took a closer look at census tracts across the City of Los Angeles to identify high risk communities.
Social Vulnerability Index
The CDC uses 15 metrics to determine a community's vulnerability to natural or man made disasters. These metrics are grouped into four themes: socioeconomic status, household composition, race/ethnicity/language, and housing/transportation. The deep blue census tracts have been identified by the CDC as more vulnerable.
High Risk Groups
Seniors
The census tracts in red have a large proportion of residents who are 65 and older and have a high social vulnerability score from the CDC, making them high risk communities to target.
African American communities
The census tracts in blue have a large proportion of residents who are African American or Black, over age 65, and are considered socially vulnerable by the CDC.
Early data uncovered by ProPublica shows COVID-19 has disproportionately affected African American communities. Black people are being infected and are dying at higher rates of the disease.
Underlying health conditions
CalEnviroScreen collects data on California communities impacted by pollution and other environmental factors. Public health experts warn that people with underlying health conditions like asthma and cardiovascular disease are at greater risk when it comes to COVID-19.
Using data from the latest CalEnviroScreen report, the communities in dark blue have known risk factors for COVID-19, such as: high proportion of asthma, high proportion of cardiovascular disease, high population density, high poverty rates, and more.
Highest risk communities, in terms of underlying health conditions
Safer at Home
The good news, however, is that Angelenos are doing their part to flatten the curve by staying home. Working with Cityfi , we analyzed data from SafeGraph and found that foot traffic to businesses was down 70% between March and April (darker colors represent lower foot traffic) . Keep it up, stay strong, and stay tuned for more updates about what the City is doing to respond to the crisis and take care of its residents.
You can also support our efforts by donating to the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles or signing up with VolunteerLA .