By Jorge Casuso

April 6, 2021 -- During the past month, 27 Santa Monica residents have died with the coronavirus, nearly three times the rate of deaths reported Countywide, according to LA County Health data.

The deaths -- which were reported between Monday March 8 and Sunday April 4 -- come as LA County continues to see a drop in both the rate of cases and deaths.

As of Sunday, 23,276 residents had died in LA County, which has a population of more than 10 million. Of those, 1,235 deaths -- or .012 percent -- were confirmed over the past month.

That compares with .03 percent confirmed for Santa Monica, which has a population of 93,000.

Over the past month, Santa Monica had a total of 230 confirmed cases, bringing the total on Sunday to 4,642. A total of 179 Santa Monica residents who have tested positive for COVID-19 have died.

The deaths and cases citywide come as Santa Monica begins emerging -- along with the County and State -- from one of the strictest shutdowns in the nation.

A report released Tuesday by the personal-finance website WalletHub found that California was among the most restrictive states in the nation when it comes to cornonavirus measures.

These include the requirement to wear a face mask in public, state guidance on customer health checks at restaurants, large gatherings restrictions and reopening of non-essential businesses, including restaurants and bars.

Only five states -- including New York and Washington -- and the District of Columbia were more restrictive, according to the report.

“California has the 7th most coronavirus restrictions in the U.S., and is one of only three states to currently limit gatherings to 25 people,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst.

“Non-essential businesses in California are open with limits and the state is one of only a few where bars continue to remain closed.”

Iowa was the state with the fewest restrictions, followed by Florida.

Recent articles published in the mainstream media report that despite their widely varying responses, California and Florida have similar per capita rates of COVID-19 cases and deaths.

According to Healhline, an online newsletter, "Both states initiated lockdowns early in the pandemic, but since then, Florida has eschewed mask mandates, lockdowns, and other public health guidelines to mitigate deaths and hospitalizations from COVID-19."

"California, on the other hand, has had multiple lockdowns and a mask mandate in place since June 18, 2020. Despite this, per capita cases, hospitalizations, and deaths from COVID-19 in these states are similar."

California has had about 8,900 cases per 100,000 people while Florida has had about 8,700 per 100,000, according to the article based on publicly available data.

The article quotes experts who attribute the similar results to California's "housing density, income levels, and health systems."

The 27 deaths and 230 cases confirmed in Santa Monica over the past month are far fewer than the peak reached in December.

That month, a record 365 cases were confirmed in the week ending Sunday December 27, capping a month that saw case records shattered every week.

In the week ending Sunday, January 10, Santa Monica reported a record 16 weekly deaths, reflecting a two-week lag in confirming and reporting coronavirus-related deaths.

By Sunday, February 16, the number of weekly cases had dropped below 100 with 70 new cases, the lowest number since a record low five weekly cases were reported four months earlier in the week ending Sunday, October 18.