The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Friday 43 new deaths and 1,115 new cases of confirmed COVID-19 countywide, with 5,594 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley. To date, Public Health has identified 252,066 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County, and a total of 6,171 deaths.

The number of daily hospitalizations continues to decline. There are 889 confirmed cases currently hospitalized and 33% of these people are confirmed cases in the ICU. Similar to the numbers seen in early April, daily hospitalizations have dropped back to an average of under 1,000 hospitalizations a day.

**Public Health also reports three new cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). This brings the total number of MIS-C case in L.A. County to 34 children.**

All 34 children with MIS-C in L.A. County were hospitalized and 45% of the children were treated in the ICU. Twenty-seven percent of these cases were between the ages of 0 and 4 years old, 38% were between the ages of 5 and 11 years old, and 35% were between the ages of 12 and 20 years old. Latino/Latinx children continue to make up the majority of cases accounting for 71% of all cases. There have been no reported deaths in children with MIS-C in L.A. County.

MIS-C is a rare inflammatory condition associated with COVID-19 that can damage multiple organ systems. MIS-C can require hospitalization and be life-threatening. Parents and guardians are urged to contact their child’s primary care provider if they believe their child is displaying MIS-C symptoms, including fever that does not go away, inflamed body parts, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs. If they do not have a primary care provider, dial 2-1-1 and L.A. County will help connect them to one.

California Friday Snapshot
Statewide, the California Department of Public Health confirmed a total of 746,191, with 14,089 deaths from the disease. There are 3,142 confirmed hospitalizations and 1,023 ICU hospitalizations in California.

Numbers may not represent true day-over-day change as reporting of test results can be delayed.

There were 3,326 newly recorded confirmed cases Thursday. Numbers do not represent true day-over-day change as these results include cases from prior to yesterday.

The 7-day positivity rate is 3.7% and the 14-day positivity rate is 4.0%.

There have been 12,451,660 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 61,669 over the prior 24-hour reporting period.

As case numbers continue to rise in California, the total number of individuals who will have serious outcomes will also increase.

New Testing Turnaround Time Dashboard
CDPH has posted a new dashboard reporting how long California patients are waiting for COVID-19 test results. California has worked to reduce testing turnaround times in recent weeks to help curb the spread of the virus. During the week of August 23 to August 29, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.3 days. During this same time period, 66 percent of patients received test results in 1 day and 88 percent received them within two days. The testing turnaround time dashboard (PDF) is updated weekly.

Health Care Worker Infection Rates
As of Sept. 10, local health departments have reported 34,834 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 167 deaths statewide.

Santa Clarita Valley Friday Update
As of 3:30 p.m. Friday, the L.A. County Public Health COVID-19 data dashboard reports 55 deaths from COVID-19 among Santa Clarita residents. However, the county has revised the numbers once again for Santa Clarita and Castaic. Of the dead, 45 lived in the city of Santa Clarita (revised initially from 43), 3 in Castaic (revised initially from 5), 2 in Acton, 2 in Stevenson Ranch, 1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon, 1 in Val Verde, 1 in unincorporated Valencia.

Of the 5,594 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 3,149

Castaic: 1,918 (includes Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility*)

Stevenson Ranch: 156

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 120

Val Verde: 66

Acton: 65

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 41

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 27

Agua Dulce: 25

Elizabeth Lake: 6

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 6

Bouquet Canyon: 6

Sand Canyon: 6

Lake Hughes: 2

Saugus/Canyon Country: 1

*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.

Henry Mayo Friday Update
As of Wednesday, Sept. 9, of the 7,309 people tested at Henry Mayo to date, 817 tested positive, 8,332 were negative, 15 were pending, 12 patients were hospitalized in a dedicated unit receiving ICU-level care (two more than the previous Wednesday), and a total of 234 COVID-19 patients have been discharged so far. COVID-19 fatalities at Henry Mayo stand at 22, hospital spokesman Patrick Moody said.

Discrepancies in the testing numbers are due to some patients being tested multiple times. “Often a single patient is tested more than once,” Moody said.

Henry Mayo releases statistics weekly, generally on Wednesdays, unless there is a drastic change in the number of cases or a COVID-related death has been confirmed.

L.A. County

“To the family and friends of those who have passed away from COVID-19, and to the thousands that have been sickened by COVID-19, our hearts got out to you.” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Today, as we remember the lives lost on September 11, 2001 and extend our gratitude to all the first responders for their courage and service, we also take a solemn pause to pay respect to the 6,171 people who lost their lives to COVID-19 in L.A. County and reflect on our heroic healthcare workers that have responded selflessly to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our Country came together after 9/11 and forged a new path forward; today, we have also been asked to come together and learn how to live through the COVID-19 pandemic. We give thanks to all who helped us get through the devastation brought by 9/11, and to all who are helping us get through COVID-19.”

Of the 43 new deaths reported today (excluding Long Beach and Pasadena), 18 people that passed away were over the age of 80, 12 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, eight people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, one person who died was between the ages of 30 and 49 years old, and one person who died was between the ages of 18 and 29 years old. Thirty people had underlying health conditions including 14 people over the age of 80 years old, nine people between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, five people between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, one person between the ages of 30 and 49, and one person between the ages of 18 to 29 years old. Three deaths were reported by the city of Long Beach.

Ninety-two percent of the people who died from COVID-19 had underlying health conditions. Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 5,806 people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health); 51% of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 23% among White residents, 15% among Asian residents, 10% among African American/Black residents, less than 1% among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander residents and 1% among residents identifying with other races.

Testing results are available for nearly 2,419,000 individuals with 10% of all people testing positive. Upon further investigation, 73 cases reported earlier were not L.A. County residents.

The 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 Friday

Blueprint for a Safer Economy

Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled the Blueprint for a Safer Economy, a statewide plan for reducing COVID-19 and keeping Californians healthy and safe. The plan imposes risk-based criteria on tightening and loosening COVID-19 allowable activities and expands the length of time between changes to assess how any movement affects the trajectory of the disease.

Californians can go to covid19.ca.gov to find out where their county falls and what activities are allowable in each county.

Data and Tools
A wide range of data and analysis guides California’s response to COVID-19. The state is making the data and its analytical tools available to researchers, scientists and the public at covid19.ca.gov.

Popular links include:

– The Statewide COVID-19 Dashboard

– The California COVID-19 Assessment Tool (CalCAT)

– State Cases and Deaths Associated with COVID-19 by Age Group

– COVID-19 Race & Ethnicity Data

– COVID-19 Hospital Data and Case Statistics

– View additional datasets at the California Open Data Portal (Including: Testing Data, PPE Logistics Data, Hospital Data, Homeless Impact and more)

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)
Each week, the California Department of Public Health updates the number of cases of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) reported in the state. As of Sept. 7, 73 cases of MIS-C have been reported statewide. To protect patient confidentiality in counties with fewer than 11 cases, we are not providing total counts at this time.

MIS-C is a rare inflammatory condition associated with COVID-19 that can damage multiple organ systems. MIS-C can require hospitalization and be life threatening. Parents should be aware of the signs and symptoms of MIS-C including fever that does not go away, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, neck pain, rash, bloodshot eyes or feeling tired. Contact your child’s doctor immediately if your child has these symptoms. Early diagnosis and treatment of patients is critical to preventing long-term complications.

Racial Demographics – A More Complete Picture
The California Department of Public Health is committed to health equity and collecting more detailed racial and ethnic data that will provide additional understanding for determining future action. Health outcomes are affected by forces including structural racism, poverty and the disproportionate prevalence of underlying conditions such as asthma and heart disease among Latinos and African American Californians. Only by looking at the full picture can we understand how to ensure the best outcomes for all Californians.

The differences in health outcomes related to COVID-19 are most stark in COVID-19 deaths. We have nearly complete data on race and ethnicity for COVID-19 deaths, and we are seeing the following trends. 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 about three-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.

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.

Your Actions Save Lives
Every person has a role to play. Protecting yourself and your family comes down to common sense:

– Staying home except for essential needs/activities following local and state public health guidelines when patronizing approved businesses. To the extent that such sectors are re-opened, Californians may leave their homes to work at, patronize, or otherwise engage with those businesses, establishments or activities.

– Practicing social distancing.

– Wearing a cloth face mask when out in public.

– Washing hands with soap and water for a minimum of 20 seconds.

– Avoiding touching eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands.

– Covering a cough or sneeze with your sleeve, or disposable tissue. Wash your hands afterward.

– Avoiding close contact with people who are sick.

– Staying away from work, school or other people if you become sick with respiratory symptoms like fever and cough.

– Following guidance from public health officials.

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

– Los Angeles County Department of Public Health

– California Department of Public Health

– Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

– Spanish

– World Health Organization

L.A. County residents can also call 2-1-1.

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.