The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has confirmed 113 laboratory verified new cases and no additional deaths from COVID-19 in the Santa Clarita Valley within the last week.

Public Health is now reporting COVID-19 data once a week. This is the most recent data from Nov. 16.

This new data brings Los Angeles County death totals to 36,955, case totals to 3,819,903 and Santa Clarita Valley case totals to 102,420 since March of 2020. SCV deaths from COVID-19 remain at 576.

As Winter Respiratory Virus Spread Slowly Increases, Residents Encouraged to Plan and Prepare

With a small uptick in indicators of COVID-19 transmission the past two weeks, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health continues to monitor data to assess the possibility for larger increases in spread as the holiday season gets underway. Residents are encouraged to plan and prepare for this winter’s respiratory virus season.

Last winter, COVID-19 cases started to increase in late October and peaked in early December. The winter before, cases remained relatively stable through the end of November, and then increased sharply in December with the arrival of the Omicron variant. Cases then peaked in early January.

Since Nov. 1, the average daily number of reported COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles County has increased 25 percent and the percentage of emergency department visits classified as COVID-19-related has increased 20 percent.

While data shows that in Los Angeles County the risk of rapid spread of COVID-19 is currently of low concern, it is beneficial to be aware of potential increases in transmission, especially as increased transmission of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and flu are also being seen in the county.

This year, RSV transmission began increasing in late September, and there has recently been an increase in flu transmission starting in late October. With all three viruses circulating at the same time, and beginning to increase simultaneously, there is a greater chance for a strain on the county’s health care system as more individuals may need to seek medical care from providers all within the same period. This is what is described as the ‘tripledemic’ and why preparing for the winter respiratory virus season is so important.

The best course of action is to maximize protection against severe illness by ensuring vaccines are up to date. For people 6 months and older, an annual flu and, regardless of past vaccination status, the updated (2023-2024 formula) COVID-19 vaccine is recommended. People who are pregnant, those with very young children and people over 60 years old should speak to their provider about the RSV vaccine. In most cases, multiple vaccines can be administered at the same time.

To help minimize the spread of illness in the community, people should stay home when they feel sick or are exhibiting symptoms, including a fever, cough, or sore throat, and test to detect a possible COVID-19 infection early. COVID-19 tests are free at many sites throughout the county and information is available at ph.lacounty.gov/COVIDtests. Treatments for COVID-19 and flu are routinely available with a prescription and can help to prevent severe illness, especially for those who are at high risk.

Adults and children 12 years and older who test or are suspected positive for COVID and have underlying health conditions or factors that may result in more severe illness from COVID-19, are eligible to take Paxlovid, which must be started within five days of symptom onset. Public Health encourages everyone to speak with their provider about Paxlovid if they test positive or to call the Public Health Call Center at 1-833-540-0473, open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., for free telehealth services and a prescription.

If a person has respiratory symptoms and is testing negative for COVID-19, it is possible that they have a flu infection and anti-viral treatments are also available with a prescription from a provider. Oseltamivir, available under the trade name Tamiflu, is approved for treatment of flu in adults and children 14 days old and older. People who are 65 years old and older, under 5 years old, pregnant or have underlying health conditions, such as asthma, diabetes or obesity, are at higher risk for complications and should seek medical care if they feel ill.

Los Angeles County residents who have questions about respiratory symptoms, vaccines, where to get vaccination or how to get tested can access the Public Health Call Center, open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. to answer questions related to COVID-19, flu or RSV at 1-833-540-0473. Public Health staff can connect callers with resources and help people schedule vaccination appointments, including in-home vaccinations for those that are homebound.

In Los Angeles County, based on data through Nov. 4, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Hospital Admission Level is Low at 3.6 new COVID-19 hospitalizations per 100,000 people.

Public Health reports COVID-19 data weekly. The following table shows case, wastewater, emergency department, hospitalization and death data in Los Angeles County over the past four weeks.

All daily averages are 7-day averages. Data for past weeks are subject to change in future reports. Time periods covered by each metric: cases = week ending each Saturday; wastewater = week ending each Saturday, with a one-week lag; ED data = week ending each Sunday; hospitalizations = week ending each Saturday; deaths = week ending each Monday, with a three-week lag; death percentage = week ending Monday, with a one-week lag.

Case data is presented by episode date, an approximation of the date the illness began, and death data is presented by date of death. This is a change from how case and death data were presented prior to July 26, 2023, which was by date of report. Daily average cases do not include Long Beach and Pasadena; daily average deaths include Long Beach and Pasadena.

A wide range of data and dashboards on COVID-19 from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health are available on the Public Health website at http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov including:

COVID-19 Locations & Demographics (data by demographic characteristics and geography, active outbreaks, and citations)

 – COVID-19 Response Plan

 – COVID-19 Vaccinations

 – Skilled Nursing Facility Metrics

Always check with trusted sources for the latest accurate information about novel coronavirus:

 – Los Angeles County Department of Public Health: http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/

– California Department of Public Health: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/Immunization/nCOV2019.aspx

– Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

– CDC Spanishhttps://espanol.cdc.gov/enes/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

– World Health Organization https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus

– LA County residents can also call 2-1-1

William S. Hart Union High School District COVID-19 Dashboard

Since the State of Emergency has been lifted, the William S. Hart Union High School District will no longer be posting dashboard information.

Santa Clarita Valley Update

The L.A. County Public Health dashboard reported no additional deaths from COVID-19 leaving the total number of deaths in the SCV at 576.

NOTE: As of Dec. 20, 2022, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health switched to a new geocoding process to improve the accuracy and completeness of geocoded data. Geocoding is the process of assigning an address to specific geographic coordinates (latitude/longitude). As a result, approximately 1,500 cases (0.04%) were removed from the cumulative count as they were determined to be out of jurisdiction with the improved geocoding. The switch to this improved process also resulted in minor changes to cumulative case/death counts by Supervisor District, Service Planning Area, city/community, and area poverty categories.

The following is the community breakdown per L.A. County’s dashboard:

Santa Clarita: 469

Castaic: 31 (revised from 33)

Acton: 20

Stevenson Ranch: 19

Unincorporated Canyon Country: 11

Agua Dulce: 8

Val Verde: 6

Elizabeth Lake: 4

Lake Hughes: 2

Valencia: 2

Unincorporated Bouquet Canyon: 2

Newhall: 1

Unincorporated Saugus/Canyon Country: 1

SCV Cases

Of the 102,420 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 75,581

Castaic: 9,987

Stevenson Ranch: 6,198

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 3,879

Acton: 2,073

Val Verde: 1,249

Agua Dulce: 1,021

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 968

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 354

Elizabeth Lake: 295

Bouquet Canyon: 213

Lake Hughes: 208

Saugus/Canyon Country: 152

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 109

Sand Canyon: 64

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 45

Placerita Canyon: 24

*Note: The county is unable to break out separate numbers for Castaic and PDC/NCCF because the county uses geotagging software that cannot be changed at this time, according to officials. Click here for the LASD COVID-19 dashboard.

California By the Numbers

California now reports weekly COVID updates on Fridays. Updated data as of Nov. 17:

New hospital admissions updated November 17, 2023 at 9:36 AM, with data from Nov. 11.

Deaths and tests updated November 17, 2023 at 9:36 AM, with data from Nov. 14.

For more California data, click [here].