As the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health suspends daily reports until Monday, the California Department of Public Health on Friday confirmed a total of 248,235 cases statewide as of July 2 (up from 5,688 from July 1 and another 2,352 results received), with 6,263 deaths (up 100 from July 1) from the disease.

Local health departments have reported 15,622 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 94 deaths statewide.

There were 5,506 confirmed hospitalizations and 1,650 ICU hospitalizations in California as of July 2.

The state’s positivity rate – a key indicator of community spread – is trending upward in the 14-day average. Hospitalization rates are also trending upward in the 14-day average.

L.A. County Public Health suspended daily reports for Friday, Saturday and Sunday as the agency updates its COVID-19 database over the July 4th weekend. Daily reports will resume on Monday, July 6.

As a result, testing data from L.A. County will be not be reflected in statewide totals for the next few days. The county will continue to collect data during this time and it will be reflected in the state numbers early next week.

Most Recent County, SCV Numbers
As of Thursday, the most recent county figures released, Public Health had confirmed 2,204 new cases of COVID-19 and 55 new deaths due to the virus countywide, the fifth consecutive day of more than 2,000 new cases.

The total of confirmed COVID-19 cases reported in the Santa Clarita Valley was 3,239 since the pandemic began, including 1,236 in the city of Santa Clarita.

Of the 32 SCV residents who have died of the virus to date, 25 resided in the city of Santa Clarita, 2 in Acton, 2 in Castaic, 1 in Val Verde, 1 in unincorporated Valencia, and 1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon.

Countywide, Public Health had reported 107,667 positive cases of COVID-19 and a total of 3,454 deaths to date as of Thursday. Ninety-three percent of people who died had underlying health conditions.

Beaches Closed; Fireworks Displays Kiboshed
Earlier this week a Health Officer Order was issued that closes L.A. County beaches from July 3 at 5 a.m. through July 6 at 5 a.m. to prevent crowded situations that could result in more spread of COVID-19.

All public beaches, piers, public beach parking lots, beach bike paths that traverse that sanded portion of the beach, and beach access points are temporarily closed to the public through the weekend until Monday morning.

The order also prohibits fireworks displays. The city of Santa Clarita’s July 4 fireworks show was among those kiboshed by the county order.

Santa Clarita Valley Thursday Update (next update Monday, July 6)
Of the 3,239 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 1,236

Castaic: 1,792 (includes Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility*)

Stevenson Ranch: 68

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 47

Val Verde: 29

Acton: 25

Agua Dulce: 14

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 13

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 6

Elizabeth Lake: 4

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 3

Bouquet Canyon: 1

Lake Hughes: 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
Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital reported its 14th COVID-related death on Wednesday, July 1, a person who died over the past weekend, according to hospital spokesman Patrick Moody.

The person was a resident of the city of Santa Clarita, bringing the city’s total to 25 fatalities and the SCV’s to 32 due to the virus, according to Public Health records.

The hospital is now releasing 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.

As of Wednesday, July 1, of the 3,273 persons tested at Henry Mayo to date, 349 tested positive, 3,214 were negative, 151 were pending and 19 patients were hospitalized in a dedicated unit receiving ICU-level care, six more than reported last Wednesday. A total of 110 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,” Moody said.

Best Protections
The best protection against COVID-19 continues to be to wash your hands frequently, avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, self-isolate if you are sick, practice physical distancing, and wear a clean face covering when in contact with others from outside your household.

Everyone must always wear a face covering securely over your nose and mouth and keep six feet apart from others not in your household when out and about. Businesses must continue to follow Public Health directives. It is the collective responsibility shared between everyone including businesses and residents to slow the spread of COVID-19 to prevent an overwhelming surge of COVID-19 cases at healthcare facilities and save lives.

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 Testing
Due to the state’s dramatic increase in testing capacity and growing demand for tests, laboratories and local public health departments are processing and verifying more test results than ever. As a result, the reporting of some test results has been delayed.

CDPH is processing delayed test results and updating California’s case counts. To ensure the data accurately reflects how COVID-19 is impacting our communities, previously reported case numbers may sometimes be updated retroactively. The graph above shows how cases have been adjusted in recent days.

There have been 4,448,176 tests conducted in California, an increase of 109,458 tests over the prior 24-hour reporting period. As testing capacity continues to increase across the state, an increase in the number of positive cases has been expected – increasing the importance of positivity rates to find signs of community spread.

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.

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.

California Demographics
California 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 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.

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.

California COVID-19 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.

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

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

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.