The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Friday 1,445 new cases of COVID-19 and 36 new deaths due to the virus countywide, and the 22nd death in the Santa Clarita Valley since the pandemic began.

The latest SCV resident to die lived in the city of Santa Clarita, according to Public Health records.

In the SCV, of the 22 people have died of the virus to date, 18 resided in the city of Santa Clarita, 1 in Acton, 1 in Castaic, 1 in unincorporated Valencia and 1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon.

A total of 2,005 cases have been reported in the Santa Clarita Valley since the pandemic began, 131 more than reported Thursday.

Countywide, Public Health has confirmed 61,045 positive cases of COVID-19 and a total of 2,565 deaths as of Friday.

Ninety-four percent of people who died in L.A. County had underlying health conditions.

Statewide, California had 122,901 total confirmed cases and 4,485 deaths from COVID-19 as of June 4. There were 3,142 confirmed hospitalizations and 1,083 ICU hospitalizations.

As of June 4, local health departments have reported 10,750 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 65 deaths statewide.

Santa Clarita Valley Friday Update
Of the 2,005 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 822

Castaic: 1,045 (includes Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility)*

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 36

Stevenson Ranch: 34

Val Verde: 28

Acton: 11

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 9

Agua Dulce: 9

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 4

Elizabeth Lake: 3

Bouquet Canyon: 1

Lake Hughes: 1

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 1

*Note: The county is not able to break out separate numbers for Castaic and the PDC/NCCF because the county uses geotagging software that is not easy to change, according to county spokesperson Stephanie English.

Henry Mayo Friday Update
Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital reported its 11th COVID-related death on Wednesday, June 3, according to hospital spokesman Patrick Moody.

Eleven of the SCV’s 22 fatalities to date have occurred at Henry Mayo.

As of Wednesday, of the 1,824 persons tested at Henry Mayo to date, 227 tested positive, 1,810 were negative, 17 were pending and 8 patients were hospitalized in a dedicated unit receiving ICU-level care. A total of 84 COVID-19 patients have been discharged so far.

Discrepancies in the testing numbers are due to some patients being tested more than once, he said.

The hospital releases numbers on a weekly basis (Wednesdays) unless there is a drastic change in the number of cases or a death has been confirmed, Moody said.

L.A. County Demographics
Twenty-five people who died were over the age of 65 years old; nine people who died were between the ages of 41 and 65 years old, and one person who died was between the ages of 18 and 40 years old. Twenty-nine people had underlying health conditions including 22 people over the age of 65 years old, six people between the ages of 41 to 65 years old, and one person between the ages of 18 and 40 years old. One death was reported by the city of Long Beach.

“The loss of our neighbors, friends and loved ones across our communities is felt by all of us. To those who are mourning, we mourn with you. You are in our thoughts and prayers every day,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health.

“We are ending this very difficult week with a continued commitment to work hard to address injustice in systems that have life and death consequences for communities of color and this includes working on increasing resources around COVID-19 testing, care and support in all communities disproportionately affected by the virus,” Ferrer said.

Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 2,373 people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health) 41% of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 28% among White residents, 18% among Asian residents, 12% among African American residents, 1% among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander and residents identifying with other races.

Upon further investigation, 50 cases and two deaths reported earlier were not L.A. County residents.

Public Health continues to track disproportionality in health outcomes by race, ethnicity and income level data of people who have been tested, hospitalized and died from COVID-19.

African Americans, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders, and people living in communities with high levels of poverty continue to have the highest rate of death per 100,000 people for COVID-19 when compared to other groups.

Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders have a death rate of 30 per 100,000, African Americans have a death of 31 per 100,000, Latinos/Latinxs have a death of 29 per 100,000, Asians have a death rate of 21 per 100,000, and Whites have a death rate of 15 per 100,000.

People who live in areas with high rates of poverty have almost four times the rate of deaths for COVID-19 with 51 per 100,000 people, compared with communities with very low poverty levels who had a death rate of 13 per 100,000.

Public Health continues collaboration with community, healthcare, and philanthropic partners to improve testing, connection to care and services, and in-language and culturally appropriate communications to the communities experiencing these inequitable outcomes.

L.A. County Testing
As of Friday, 6,833 people who tested positive for COVID-19 (11% of positive cases) have been hospitalized at some point during their illness.

There are 1,488 people who are currently hospitalized, 29% of these people are in the ICU and 20% are on ventilators. Testing capacity continues to increase in L.A. County, with testing results available for nearly 672,000 individuals and 8% of people testing positive.

Testing capacity continues to increase across skilled nursing facilities in LA County with support from Public Health, the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services and the City of Los Angeles.

As of Thursday, 244 skilled nursing facilities have tested all residents and staff, and an additional 71 are scheduled for testing. Of the over 18,000 people tested among both residents and staff, 9% tested positive for COVID-19 and only 14% of the people who tested positive were symptomatic.

The low number of symptomatic people suggests that some individuals may not yet have developed symptoms, but also highlights the possibility that there may be, in any setting, significant numbers of people positive for COVID-19 with no symptoms.

Public Health continues to assist skilled nursing facilities complete testing, conduct on-site inspections and survey bed capacity, staffing capacity and availability of personal protective equipment.

Best Protections
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the risk of widespread transmission, everyone should always wear a face covering securely over their nose and mouth and keep six feet apart from others not in your household when out and about.

Businesses that are allowed to reopen must continue to implement their physical distancing and infection control protocols that protect both employees and customers. If you have been in a crowded setting, where people are congregating who are not using face coverings or distancing, please also consider the following:

* If you live with persons who are elderly or have high-risk conditions, you should also maintain a six-foot distance and wear a face covering when you are with them at home, avoid preparing food for others, sharing utensils, bedding and towels, and increase cleaning and disinfecting of common surfaces.

Please remember that if you are tested soon after exposure, this may not indicate if this exposure will result in you becoming positive for the virus. Testing negative for COVID-19 right after you’ve been exposed does not mean you can’t become infected later during the incubation period, so please stay away from others for 14 days after possible exposure.

The Safer at Work and in the Community Health Officer Order, Reopening Protocols, COVID-19 Surveillance Interactive Dashboard, Roadmap to Recovery, Recovery Dashboard, and additional things you can do to protect yourself, your family and your community are on the Public Health website, www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

California Demographics
Overall, for adults 18 and older, Latinos, African Americans and Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are dying at disproportionately higher levels. The proportion of COVID-19 deaths in African Americans is about double their population representation across all adult age categories.

For Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, overall numbers are low, but there is nearly a four-fold difference between the proportion of COVID-19 deaths and their population representation. More males are dying from COVID-19 than females, in line with national trends.

More information is available at COVID-19 Race and Ethnicity Data.

Testing in California
As testing capacity continues to increase across the state, the California Department of Public Health is working to expand access to COVID-19 testing. Testing should be used for medical evaluation of persons with symptoms of COVID-19 as well as for efforts by public health agencies and essential employers to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19.

As of June 4, there have been 2,238,463 tests conducted in California and reported to the California Department of Public Health. This represents an increase of 55,792 tests over the prior 24-hour reporting period.

These numbers include data from commercial, private and academic labs, including Quest, LabCorp, Kaiser, University of California and Stanford, and the the 25 state and county health labs currently testing.

More than 85 community testing sites also offer free, confidential testing: Find a COVID-19 Testing Site.

New Data Portal
The state has launched a new, user-friendly data portal at COVID-19 Statewide Update that tracks COVID-19 cases statewide and by county, gender, age and ethnicity. The portal also outlines statewide hospitalizations and testing efforts. The data presented on the portal will be updated daily and will include additional information as it is available.

What to Do if You Think You’re Sick
Call ahead: If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 (fever, cough or shortness of breath), call your health care provider before seeking medical care so that appropriate precautions can be taken. More than 85 community testing sites also offer free, confidential testing: Find a COVID-19 Testing Site.

For more information about what Californians can do to prevent the spread of COVID-19, visit Coronavirus (COVID-19) in California.

California continues to issue guidance on preparing and protecting California from COVID-19. Consolidated guidance is available on the California Department of Public Health’s Guidance webpage.