The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Thursday 263 new laboratory confirmed cases and three new 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 Jan. 4.

This new data brings Los Angeles County death totals to 37,123 case totals to 3,848,538 and Santa Clarita Valley case totals to 103,767 since March of 2020. SCV deaths from COVID-19 now stand at 588.

As Residents Return to School and Work After Holidays, Public Health Encourages Testing to Reduce COVID-19 Transmission

With higher COVID-19 transmission levels in Los Angeles County – along with other respiratory viruses – and many residents returning to school and work after the holidays, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) is encouraging residents to test if they have COVID-19 symptoms to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Free at-home COVID-19 tests remain readily available throughout Los Angeles County at libraries, from many community-based organizations, food banks and senior centers, through the federal government by mail and at retail pharmacies with a California health insurance plan. Most at-home tests can be safely used past the expiration date on the box. For more information on how to check home test expiration dates and how to get free COVID-19 tests, visit ph.lacounty.gov/COVIDtests.

People who test positive for COVID-19, especially those with underlying risk factors, should talk to a health care provider right away about COVID-19 medications. Taking an oral antiviral, such as Paxlovid, can prevent people from becoming very sick, help them feel better sooner and lower their risks of developing Long COVID. Treatment should begin within five days of testing positive or developing symptoms of COVID-19. Medications are widely available by prescription at retail pharmacies and Public Health locations throughout Los Angeles County. For a telehealth appointment or help getting a prescription for COVID-19 medication, residents are urged to contact the Public Health InfoLine at 1-833-540-0473. It’s open seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

People with respiratory illness symptoms who test negative for COVID-19 should consider masking indoors around others to avoid spreading another respiratory infection, such as flu or RSV. If symptoms continue, re-testing 48 hours later for COVID is recommended. People who are at high risk of severe illness from respiratory viruses who have tested negative for COVID-19 should talk to their health care provider about getting tested and treated for influenza. Antiviral treatments for influenza are most effective when started early in the course of illness. As with all illness, people with trouble breathing, worsening or unusual symptoms or with chronic health conditions should speak with a health care provider.

Los Angeles County’s COVID-19 Hospital Admission Level, as defined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), last week reached Medium Level. Based on the Los Angeles County Health Officer Order posted on December 27, 2023, when the COVID-19 Hospital Admission Level in Los Angeles County meets or exceeds the CDC’s Medium Level, all healthcare personnel, regardless of COVID-19 and influenza vaccination status, in Licensed Healthcare Facilities that provide Inpatient Care are required to mask while in contact with patients or working in patient-care areas. In addition, all persons visiting a Licensed Healthcare Facility that provides Inpatient Care are required to mask when around patients and while in patient-care areas. Licensed Healthcare Facilities that provide Inpatient Care are defined as:

· General Acute Care Hospitals

· Skilled Nursing Facilities (including Subacute Facilities)

· Intermediate Care Facilities

· Congregate Living Health Facilities

· Chemical Dependency Recovery Hospitals

· Acute Psychiatric Hospitals

· Hospice Facilities

Masking in these facilities will remain in effect until the COVID-19 Hospital Admission Level in Los Angeles County is below the CDC’s Medium Level for at least 14 consecutive days. As of data posted by CDC last Friday, the hospital admission rate for Los Angeles County is 10.5 new COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 people for data through Dec. 23.

Public Health is reporting an average of 542 cases per day, which is a slight decline from the 621 cases per day reported last week. However, there was a lower number of reportable tests conducted for the most recent week, likely influenced by the holidays. Case counts are also an undercount due to the large number of home test results that are not reported.

As of the most recent data available, wastewater concentrations are at 49% of last year’s winter peak, a notable increase from the 36-39% reported over the previous three weeks. Wastewater concentrations provide a more complete picture of COVID-19 transmission levels than reported cases alone.

In Los Angeles County, the average number of COVID-positive hospitalized patients per day increased to 783 from 690 the previous week.

One of the best ways to lower the risk of getting very sick from COVID-19 is by getting the updated vaccine that became available in September 2023. At least one dose of the updated COVID-19 vaccine is recommended for everyone six months and older. The new vaccine is formulated to provide protection against currently circulating COVID-19 strains and increase immunity from prior vaccination or infection that may have decreased over time. Find a vaccination site at myturn.ca.gov.

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.

Metric Date of Weekly Report

1/3/2024 12/27/2023 12/20/2023 12/13/2023

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 for all weeks except 1/3/24. Long Beach and Pasadena are not included in the daily average death count for 1/3/24 because data was not available from CDPH due to the holiday.

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 one additional death from COVID-19 in Acton and one new death in Lake Hughes, bringing the total number of deaths in the SCV to 579.

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 of the 588 deaths in the SCV per L.A. County’s dashboard:

Santa Clarita: 475

Castaic: 35

Acton: 21

Stevenson Ranch: 19

Unincorporated Canyon Country: 11

Agua Dulce: 8

Val Verde: 6

Elizabeth Lake: 4

Lake Hughes: 3

Valencia: 2

Unincorporated Bouquet Canyon: 2

Newhall: 1

Unincorporated Saugus/Canyon Country: 1

SCV Cases

Of the 103,767 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 76,591

*Castaic: 10,079

Stevenson Ranch: 6,289

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 3,920

Acton: 2,108

Val Verde: 1,267

Agua Dulce: 1,034

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 987

Saugus (unincorporated portion):  360

Elizabeth Lake: 302

Bouquet Canyon: 220

Lake Hughes: 212

Saugus/Canyon Country: 153

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 109

Sand Canyon: 64

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 46

Placerita Canyon: 25

*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 Friday, Jan. 5:

For more California data, click [here].