The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has confirmed 106 laboratory verified new cases and one additional death 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 36,976, case totals to 3,822,487 and Santa Clarita Valley case totals to 102,526 since March of 2020. SCV deaths from COVID-19 rise to 577.

Public Health Wishes Everyone a Healthy and Happy  Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving season, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) is appreciative of all the community partners who help to get COVID-19 information, guidance, and resources into the community and incredibly grateful for time to gather with loved ones to celebrate the holiday.

Over the course of the pandemic, newly developed tools and resources have helped to mitigate the impact of COVID-19, including vaccines, tests, and treatments. Paired with common-sense simple actions to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses, friends and family should feel safe enjoying festivities together.

Fortunately, many are familiar with the simple actions that can lower the chances of getting and spreading respiratory viruses, including COVID-19, flu, and RSV – stay up to date on recommended vaccines, stay home when sick, cover coughs and sneezes, and wash hands often with soap and water or use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. When possible, increase ventilation during gatherings by opening windows and doors, or holding events outside. If traveling over the holidays, using a high quality, well-fitted mask in crowded, indoor places, including airports, train stations and bus stations, can also help reduce the chance of transmission.

Testing for COVID-19 is recommended when a person has symptoms, believe they have been exposed, or if they are going to an event where people who are older or more vulnerable could be exposed.

Free COVID-19 tests remain available throughout the county at libraries, community-based organizations, and Public Health clinics and vaccination sites. Since Oct. 1, Public Health has distributed nearly 879,000 tests to public schools and other education settings, largely for children to test during or before returning from break, in addition to being used on site by school nurses or distributed to parents at events. Residents looking for free COVID tests during the holiday weekend can visit ph.lacounty.gov/COVIDtests for options.

If a person tests positive for COVID-19, they should isolate for at least five days and mask through day 10 when around others. After day five, people can leave isolation if their symptoms are mild and improving and they are fever free for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication. It is important during this time to take extra effort to not expose others, especially people who are older or at greater risk for severe illness.

People with respiratory symptoms who test negative for COVID should consider masking indoors around others to avoid spreading another respiratory infection, like flu or RSV. It is most accurate to take a second COVID-19 test 48 hours after the first test if respiratory symptoms persist. As with all illness, those with trouble breathing, worsening or unusual symptoms, or with chronic health conditions, should contact a health care provider.

Public Health encourages everyone who tests positive for COVID-19 to speak with their provider to see if they are eligible for treatment, which must be started within 5 days of symptom onset. Paxlovid is recommended for adults and children 12 years and older who test, or are suspected positive, for COVID-19 and have underlying health conditions or factors that may result in more severe illness from an infection.

For those eligible for a therapeutic medicine for COVID, Public Health offers a free telehealth visit and free medication through the Public Health Call Center. With the exception of Thanksgiving Day, when the Public Health Call Center will be closed, 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 at 1-833-540-0473, open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Public Health staff can answer questions related to COVID-19, flu, or RSV and can  help people schedule vaccination appointments, including in-home vaccinations for those that are homebound.

In Los Angeles County, based on data through Nov. 11, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Hospital Admission Level is Low at 3.7 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 one additional death from COVID-19 making the total number of deaths in the SCV at 577.

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: 470

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 102,526 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 75,649

*Castaic: 10,001

Stevenson Ranch: 6,208

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 3,883

Acton: 2,075

Val Verde: 1,251

Agua Dulce: 1,022

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 971

Saugus (unincorporated portion):  354

Elizabeth Lake: 296

Bouquet Canyon: 214

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].