The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health on Friday confirmed 21 new deaths and 1,324 new cases of COVID-19, as Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital reported its 25th COVID-19 fatality, bringing the Santa Clarita Valley’s total deaths to 64.

SCV residents accounted for 39 of the new COVID-19 cases reported Friday, upping the local tally to 6,279 confirmed cases since the pandemic began.

To date, Public Health has identified 272,653 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County, and a total of 6,626 deaths. Upon further investigation, 42 cases and five deaths reported earlier were not L.A. County residents.

“To everyone who is grieving the loss of a family member or a friend who has passed away from COVID-19, I extend my deepest sympathies,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, director of L.A. County Public Health.

Countywide, there are 730 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 and 27% of these people are in the ICU, a slight downward trend.

Testing results are available for more than 2,693,000 L.A. County residents, with 9% of all people testing positive.

Public Health is reporting two additional cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) and continued widespread COVID-19 transmission in L.A. County.

(Details will follow, below.)

California Friday Snapshot

Statewide, as of Thursday, October 1, the California Department of Public Health confirmed a total of 817,277 COVID-19 cases (up 3,590), with 15,986 deaths from the disease (up 98).

There are 2,339 confirmed hospitalizations and 679 ICU hospitalizations in the state, a slight downward trend.

California’s 7-day positivity rate is holding steady at 2.8% as is the 14-day positivity rate at 2.8%.

As of October 1, local health departments have reported 39,653 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 191 deaths statewide.

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

COVID Around the World: USA No. 1 as President, First Lady Test Positive

Worldwide, 34,448,691 people have been infected by COVID-19 while 1,025,315 people have died as of 1:23 Friday afternoon Pacific Time, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Since the pandemic began, more than 7,318,110 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 208,485.

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19 Thursday. He was taken to Walter Reed Army Medical Center on Friday, reporting “mild symptoms.”

The United States has the world’s highest numbers of cases and deaths. By comparison, No. 2 Brazil’s death toll is 144,680. India, at No. 2 in cases, had confirmed 6,394,068 cases and 99,973 deaths as of late Friday afternoon.

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital Friday Update

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital in Valencia reported Friday that another patient had died, the 25th COVID-19 death at the hospital since the pandemic began, according to spokesman Patrick Moody.

As of Friday, October 2, of the 8,571 people tested at Henry Mayo to date, 906 tested positive, 10,082 were negative, 27 were pending, 9 patients were hospitalized in a dedicated unit receiving ICU-level care (three fewer the previous report), and a total of 266 COVID-19 patients have been discharged so far.

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, 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,” he said.

Santa Clarita Valley Friday Update

As of 8 p.m. Wednesday, September 30, the latest update to its COVID-19 data dashboard, L.A. County Public Health reported 63 deaths in the Santa Clarita Valley, not yet counting the fatality reported by Henry Mayo on Friday.

Privacy regulations preclude the hospital from releasing patient residence information.

Of the 64 SCV residents who have died, 53 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 6,279 confirmed COVID-19 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 3,575

Castaic: 2,091 (includes Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility*)

Stevenson Ranch: 171

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 143

Val Verde: 78

Acton: 73

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 47

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 28

Agua Dulce: 28

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 14

Bouquet Canyon: 9

Elizabeth Lake: 7

Sand Canyon: 7

Lake Hughes: 4

Saugus/Canyon Country: 4

*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.

Timeline for Sector Reopenings

Public Health officials urge all businesses currently closed to please implement all the requirements in our protocols prior to reopening to ensure compliance. We must protect each other from COVID-19. Protocols can be found at http://ph.lacounty.gov/coronavirus.

L.A. County MIS-C Update

The two additional cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) reported Friday bring the total cases of MIS-C in L.A. County to 40 children.

All 40 children were hospitalized and nearly 50% of the children were treated in the ICU. Of the children with MIS-C, 27% were under the age of 5 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 account for 70% of the reported cases.

There have been no reported MIS-C deaths in L.A. County children.

Community Transmission Still Widespread

There continues to be widespread COVID-19 transmission in L.A. County. It is important that everyone follow the safety measures that minimize COVID-19 transmission and saves lives, including avoiding gatherings with people not from your household.

If you think you have been exposed to COVID-19, this includes a person diagnosed with or likely to have COVID-19, it is very important that you quarantine for 14 days and stay away from all other people, especially those at greater risk of becoming seriously ill from COVID-19, and monitor your health during the 14 days. This is required to prevent you from unintentionally spreading COVID-19 to other people.

You should get tested if you were exposed to COVID-19. If you think you could be positive for COVID-19 and are awaiting testing results, it is important to stay at home and act as if you are positive for the virus.

This means staying home except to get medical care and separate yourself from others until at least 10 days have passed since the onset of symptoms, and you have had no fever for at least 24 hours and your symptoms have improved.

“Recent cases and concerns about transmission of the virus among our national leaders and their staff members are a reminder to everyone about how important it is to use the tools we have to slow the spread of COVID-19,” Ferrer said.

“Wearing a cloth face covering and keeping physical distance when around people you do not live with is a very important action everyone needs to take to protect themselves and other people from transmission,” she said. “Gatherings of any kind, even with people you know who have no symptoms, can easily result in transmission of the virus to many people, especially when people are not diligent about wearing face coverings and keeping physical distance.

“Because of the virus’ long incubation period, even a person who has recently tested negative for the virus could be positive within hours of testing and have the ability to infect other people unknowingly,” Ferrer said. “Each of us being diligent in slowing the spread of COVID-19 saves lives.”

Contact Tracing Update

Public Health continues to encourage participation with case investigation and contact tracing efforts.

To date, more than 134,000 people who are or were positive for COVID-19 completed the case investigation interview process. More than 81,000 contacts, or people that were exposed to the virus, were identified, and nearly 59,000 close contacts completed interviews.

Obtaining as much information as possible from people during the case investigation interview helps contain this virus and minimize outbreaks, and it is a crucial part of protecting the health of communities.

If a person tests positive for COVID-19, they should plan on receiving a call from a contact tracer 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.

We encourage anyone who receives a call from Public Health to speak to our contact tracers. If a contact tracer calls, it will display on your phone as “LA Public Health” or as 833-641-0305.

Public Health has a dedicated call line for confirmed cases of COVID-19. If you are positive with COVID-19 and have not yet connected with a public health specialist or need more information on services, call toll-free at 1-833-540-0473. Residents who do not have COVID-19 should continue to call 2-1-1 for resources or more information.

More L.A. County Demographics: Age

Of the 21 new deaths reported Friday, four people who died were over 80 years old, seven people were between 65 and 79, five people were between 50 and 64 years old, and two people were between 30 and 49 years old.

Fourteen people who died had underlying health conditions including three people over the age of 80, seven people between 65 and 79 years old, three people between 50 and 64 years old, and one person between 30 and 49 years old. Three deaths were reported by the city of Long Beach.

Countywide, 92% of people who died had underlying health conditions.

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

* 0 to 4 4328

* 5 to 11 9346

* 12 to 17 11596

* 18 to 29 64154

* 30 to 49 88360

* 50 to 64 49795

* 65 to 79 19754

* over 80 9172

* Under Investigation 1546

More L.A. County Demographics: Race/Ethnicity

Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 6,235 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 14,868,431 tests conducted in California, an increase of 96,580 over the prior 24-hour reporting period.

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

The testing turnaround dashboard reports 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 September 13 to September 19, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.2 days. During this same time period, 69 percent of patients received test results in 1 day and 90 percent received them within two days. The testing turnaround time dashboard (PDF) is updated weekly.

As of September 22, California’s testing capacity and turnaround time have improved. As a result and until further notice, all four tiers in the Testing Prioritization Guidance originally dated July 14, 2020, will have equal priority for testing.

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 28, there have been 98 cases of MIS-C reported statewide, an increase of 10 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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