The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health on Friday confirmed 22 new deaths and 1,281 new cases of COVID-19 countywide, including 25 new cases in the Santa Clarita Valley, where Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital reported its 23rd COVID death.

That puts the SCV total at 5,762 confirmed cases and 57 deaths since the pandemic began.

To date, Public Health has identified 258,516 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County, and a total of 6330 deaths.

There are 739 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 and 31% of these people are in the ICU. This number has continued to trend lower since mid-August.

Testing results are available for more than 2,512,000 individuals with 10% of all people testing positive.

“To the families grieving the loss of a loved one to COVID-19, our hearts go out to you every day,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health.

“I appreciate the diligent efforts everyone is making to slow the spread of COVID-19 and am grateful that daily hospitalizations and deaths have continued to decline,” Ferrer said. “This decline didn’t happen by chance – this happened because individuals and businesses are doing their part to take those actions that reduce transmission. As we move into another weekend, we can’t let our guard down.”

California Friday Snapshot

Statewide, as of Thursday, September 17, the California Department of Public Health confirmed a total of 769,831 COVID-19 cases (up 3,630, with 14,812 deaths from the disease (up 91).

There are 2,676 confirmed hospitalizations and 836 ICU hospitalizations in the state, continuing a downward trend.

California’s 7-day positivity rate is 3.3% and the 14-day positivity rate is 3.4%, also continuing a downward trend.

As of September 16, local health departments have reported 36,460 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 171 deaths statewide.

COVID Around the World: USA Still Tops with Nearly 200K Deaths, But India Surges
Worldwide, 30,316,394 prople have been infected by COVID-19 while 948,365 people have died as of 1:22 Friday afternoon, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Since the pandemic began, more than 6,710,585 Americans have been diagnosed with COVID-19, while the number of people in the U.S. who have died due to the virus has surpassed 198,306.

The United States, population 330 million, has the world’s highest numbers of cases and deaths. By comparison, India, population 1.4 billion, which took the No. 2 spot in cases over Labor Day Weekend, had confirmed 5,214,677 million cases and 84,372 deaths as of Friday afternoon. India is on track to soon surpass the U.S. in deaths. Brazil still has the second-highest death toll at 134,935.

Henry Mayo Friday Update
Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital spokesman Patrick Moody reported the hospital’s 23rd COVID-19 death on Friday, September 18.

As of Friday, of the 7,763 people tested at Henry Mayo since the pandemic began, 843 tested positive, 9,066 were negative, 19 were pending, 11 patients were hospitalized in a dedicated unit receiving ICU-level care, and a total of 246 COVID-19 patients have been discharged so far.

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

The hospital now releases statistics weekly, on Wednesdays, unless there is a drastic change in the number of cases or a COVID-related death has been confirmed, as on Friday.

Santa Clarita Valley Friday Update

The L.A. County Public Health COVID-19 data dashboard as of the latest update at 8 p.m. Wednesday, September 16, tallied the SCV’s total of deaths at 56 since the pandemic began, but did not include the death reported by Henry Mayo Friday.

Of the 57 SCV residents who have died to date, 45 lived in the city of Santa Clarita, 4 in Castaic, 2 in Acton, 2 in Stevenson Ranch, 1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon, 1 in Val Verde, 1 in unincorporated Valencia, and 1 in a community not yet named.

Of the 5,762 cases reported to Public Health among SCV residents to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 3,232

Castaic: 1,934 (most from Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility*)

Stevenson Ranch: 157

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 125

Val Verde: 67

Acton: 66

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 42

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 27

Agua Dulce: 26

Elizabeth Lake: 7

Bouquet Canyon: 6

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 6

Sand Canyon: 6

Lake Hughes: 3

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.

Underlying Health Conditions

Ninety-two percent of the people who died from COVID-19 had underlying health conditions. This number has stayed consistent throughout the pandemic.

Yet a significant number of deaths have occurred in people without a reported underlying health condition. Out of the total deaths reported by Public Health, nearly 480 deaths have occurred among people without known underlying health conditions.

Because COVID-19 can be deadly to anyone and is widespread in L.A. County, the guidance continues to be for everyone to avoid being exposed to the virus.

Limit going out in public to what is essential, distance six feet away from others when out in public, wear a face covering, and wash hands frequently.

It is important to isolate if you are sick and get tested if you have symptoms or think you were exposed to someone with COVID-19. This is the best way to prevent getting and spreading COVID-19.

L.A. County Demographics: Age

Of the 22 new deaths reported today, eight people that passed away were over the age of 80 years old, five people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, four people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, and one person who died was between the ages of 30 and 49 years old.

Nineteen people who died had underlying health conditions including seven people over the age of 80, four people between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, and eight people between the ages of 50 and 64 years old.

Upon further investigation, 36 cases and 16 deaths reported earlier were not L.A. County residents.

Cases by Age Group (Los Angeles County only — excluding Long Beach and Pasadena)

* 0 to 4 4003

* 5 to 11 8684

* 12 to 17 10753

* 18 to 29 60217

* 30 to 49 83158

* 50 to 64 46818

* 65 to 79 18582

* over 80 8709

* Under Investigation 1474

L.A. County Demographics: Race/Ethnicity

Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 5,955 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.

L.A. County Public Health’s 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 Blueprint for a Safer Economy

Governor Newsom’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy 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.

California Testing

There have been 13,177,186 tests conducted in California, an increase of 97,149 over the prior 24-hour reporting period.

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

CDPH has posted a new dashboard reporting how long California patients are waiting for COVID-19 test results. CDPH has worked to reduce testing turnaround times in recent weeks to help curb the spread of the virus.

The testing turnaround time dashboard PDF is updated weekly.

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 more than one-and-a-half times their population representation across all adult age categories. For Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, overall numbers are low, but almost double 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.

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 September 14, there have been 80 cases of MIS-C reported statewide, an increase of 7 over the previous week.

To protect patient confidentiality in counties with fewer than 11 cases, CDPH is 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 are critical to preventing long-term complications.

Protect Yourself and Your Family

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 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

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.

It’s important if someone thinks they could be positive for COVID-19 and are awaiting testing results to stay at home and act as if they are positive. This means self-isolating for 10 days and 72 hours after symptoms and fever subside.

If a person tests positive for COVID-19, they should plan on receiving a call from a public health specialist to discuss how to protect themselves and others, to find out where they may have been, and who they were in close contact with while infectious.

California COVID-19 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.

* 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)

Consolidated guidance is available on the California Department of Public Health’s Guidance webpage.

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Always check with trusted sources for the latest accurate information about novel coronavirus (COVID-19):

* Los Angeles County Department of Public Health

* California Department of Public Health

* Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

* Spanish

* World Health Organization

* Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 Dashboard

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

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