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September 19
1863 - Gen. Edward F. Beale loans money to A.A. Hudson and Oliver P. Robbins to erect toll house in Newhall Pass [story]
toll house


New research suggests that COVID-19 may have been circulating in the Los Angeles area as early as last December — months before the outbreak in officially confirmed U.S. cases began to signal the beginning of a pandemic.

Health officials from China and the World Health Organization began to warn of a mysterious strain of pneumonia afflicting dozens in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, reports that would later be identified as the beginning of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 — which causes the COVID-19 disease — but the official timeline for the virus in the United States would take longer to develop.

While a Washington man became officially diagnosed with the coronavirus in late January after returning from a trip to Wuhan, it would take until February for the first case of suspected local transmission of COVID-19 to be confirmed in the U.S.

By March, the COVID-19 pandemic began ransacking the nation in earnest, with New York surpassing Seattle as the official U.S. outbreak epicenter. States initiated stay-at-home protocols after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began to warn against large social gatherings.

Though this timeline of the coronavirus in the United States has been widely accepted, a new study published Thursday in the Journal of Medical Internet Research suggests the virus may have already been extremely active among L.A. communities well before the official record would suggest.

To uncover these findings, researchers led by Dr. Joann Elmore, professor at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine, examined extensive outpatient medical data from UCLA Health hospitals and clinics beginning in late December 2019.

Elmore said that while other COVID-19 studies have also looked at similar hospital data, the team behind Thursday’s study looked into a broader range of clinical data from UCLA facilities.

“For many diseases, data from the outpatient setting can provide an early warning to emergency departments and hospital intensive care units of what is to come,” Elmore said with the release of the study. “The majority of Covid-19 studies evaluate hospitalization data, but we also looked at the larger outpatient clinic setting, where most patients turn first for medical care when illness and symptoms arise.”

During this process, researchers took a hard look at over 10 million health system and patient visit records for UCLA Health outpatient, emergency department and hospital facilities from December 2019 to February 2020 — months before the sweeping emergency health declarations that began in March.

Researchers then compared this data to comparable information from the same monthly periods going back the last five years to see how these winter months stacked up to previous years.

What they found was that the rate of patients seeking treatment for coughs or other respiratory issues at UCLA facilities increased by 50%.

On top of this drastically increased volume of coughing patients, researchers also observed a significant increase in patients being hospitalized for acute respiratory failure during the same time.

Researchers say these increases that could not be properly explained by changes in patient populations or seasonal factors.

Given our knowledge of Covid-19 and its impact on the human respiratory system, researchers say that the deadly virus responsible for over 190,000 deaths in the United States to date could also have been behind these patient increases.

Researchers warn, however, that these results are not definitive, as there could be a host of other factors that could at least partially explain the surge. Scientists say that the flu, term methodology used to analyze the data or even complications from e-cigarettes and vaping could potentially explain some or all of these figures.

Elmore notes that with all of these variables in place, the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic and the presence of early, unconfirmed cases may never be fully understood — but that the lessons we’ve learned this past year could prove invaluable for health experts looking to track future pandemics moving forward.

“We may never truly know if these excess patients represented early and undetected COVID-19 cases in our area,” Elmore said. “But the lessons learned from this pandemic, paired with health care analytics that enable real-time surveillance of disease and symptoms, can potentially help us identify and track emerging outbreaks and future epidemics.”

— By Carson McCullough, CNS

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SCV NewsBreak
LOCAL NEWS HEADLINES
Thursday, Sep 19, 2024
Sept. 26-27: Valencia High Choir Presents Fall Concert ‘Broadway, Movies & Media’
Valencia High School's Choir will hold a fall concert, "Broadway, Movies & Media" at 7 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. and Friday, Sept. 27, 7 p.m. at the Saugus High School Theatre, 21900 Centurion Way, Santa Clarita, CA 91350.
Wednesday, Sep 18, 2024
Sept. 21: JCI Invites All Veterans to Upcoming Resource Fair
JCI Santa Clarita is proud to announce the upcoming Veteran’s Resource Fair, scheduled to take place on Sept. 21 at William S. Hart Park. 
Tuesday, Sep 17, 2024
Sept. 19: SENSES Pirate Block Party
Get ready to set sail at the Pirates SENSES Block Party, presented by the city of Santa Clarita, Thursday, Sept 19 from 7-10 p.m. on main street in Old Town Newhall.
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Latest Additions to SCVNews.com
Valencia High School's Choir will hold a fall concert, "Broadway, Movies & Media" at 7 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. and Friday, Sept. 27, 7 p.m. at the Saugus High School Theatre, 21900 Centurion Way, Santa Clarita, CA 91350.
Sept. 26-27: Valencia High Choir Presents Fall Concert ‘Broadway, Movies & Media’
As my wife, Virginia, and I stroll through our magnificent City, we admire the beautiful paseos and the expansive open spaces, but what really catches our eye, is the diverse works of art at every turn.
Bill Miranda | Santa Clarita Arts, a Journey Through Creativity
The California Department of Public Health is encouraging all Californians to get vaccinated this season to protect themselves and loved ones from respiratory viruses.
CDPH: Stay Up to Date on Vaccines
The Friends of Santa Clarita Public Library in collaboration with Santa Clarita Valley Libraries will have a silent Book Auction beginning at 9 a.m. Monday, Sept. 30, through 10 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 7.
Sept. 30: Public Libraries to Host Silent Book Auctions
1863 - Gen. Edward F. Beale loans money to A.A. Hudson and Oliver P. Robbins to erect toll house in Newhall Pass [story]
toll house
The Counties of Los Angeles and San Bernardino today announced the opening of multiple joint Local Assistance Centers to assist residents impacted by the Bridge and Line Fires.
Joint Assistance Centers Open for Residents Impacted by Bridge, Line Fires
Valencia Gynecology Associates, owned by longtime Santa Clarita Valley OB-GYN physician Don Nishiguchi, MD, has joined the Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital network. 
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JCI Santa Clarita is proud to announce the upcoming Veteran’s Resource Fair, scheduled to take place on Sept. 21 at William S. Hart Park. 
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A "friendies" field tournament  is being  hosted by the Saugus Instrumental Music program, with support from Valencia High, later this month. 
Sept. 21: All Valley Showcase Comes to Valencia High
Public, member-supported 88.5 FM The SoCal Sound, Southern California’s leading Triple-A (adult album alternative) format radio station has announced the lineup for its inaugural “Year-End Bash” taking place on Saturday, Dec. 7.
Dec. 7: CSUN Owned 88.5-FM The SoCal Sound Announces “Year End Bash” Lineup featuring Ben Gibbard
The Master's University cross-country teams continued their successful 2024 campaigns with strong finishes at the BIOLA Invitational on Friday, Sept. 13 at Craig Regional Park in Fullerton, Calif.
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Sheriff’s Department Announces New Law Enforcement Gang Policy
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The biology department at California State University, Northridge has stayed committed to promoting STEM research carried out by K-12 students and teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
CSUN Student Research Journal Celebrates 28 Years of Inspiring Scientific Imagination
Did you know the SCVEDC has an interactive, online tool that provides themed virtual tours of the amazing features the community has to offer? 
SCVEDC Offers Virtual Business Tours of the Santa Clarita Valley
California Institute of the Arts alum and visionary filmmaker Tim Burton (Film/Video 1979) was honored with the 2,788th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
CalArts Alum Tim Burton Receives Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
1962 - Articles of incorporation filed for Golden State Memorial Hospital on Lyons Avenue [story]
Golden State Hospital
The Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center welcomes back Jim Curry for an evening concert celebrating the music of John Denver on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 5 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom at Bella Vida.
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As part of the Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency's ongoing commitment to ensuring local groundwater quality and reliability, the SCV Water recently began construction on a new treatment facility to remove perchlorate and volatile organic compounds at Well 205 in Valencia.
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Get ready to set sail at the Pirates SENSES Block Party, presented by the city of Santa Clarita, Thursday, Sept 19 from 7-10 p.m. on main street in Old Town Newhall.
Sept. 19: SENSES Pirate Block Party
No. 21 College of the Canyons football team knocked off No. 5 Fullerton College 29-13 on Saturday night behind a stifling defensive effort and five field goals from Luis Rodriguez.
No. 21 Canyons Knocks Off No. 5 Fullerton 29-13
Six of the seven Foothill League Varsity football teams begin league play Friday night, Sept. 20.
Foothill League Football Begins for SCV Teams
The California Institute of the Arts will present the "NAACP Santa Clarita Masquerade Ball", Friday, Oct. 4, 7-11 p.m. at 24700 McBean Parkway, Valencia, CA 91355.
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The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is investigating two human cases of a rare parasitic infection, Baylisascaris procyonis, also known as raccoon roundworm.
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1879 - First official Newhall School building erected near Walnut & Ninth streets [story]
First Newhall School
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