Los Angeles County Public Health on Friday confirmed 36 new deaths, 643 new cases of COVID-19 countywide, and reported the lowest test positivity rate to date.

Public Health identified 1,228,114 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 23,601 deaths to date, with 27,557 of those cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

“To the families that are grieving the loss of a loved one to COVID-19, we extend our deepest condolences to you,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health.

Testing results are available for nearly 6,272,000 individuals with 18% of people testing positive.

Today’s daily test positivity rate is 1%, the lowest test positivity rate since the beginning of the pandemic.

The test positivity rate peaked over 20% in late-December during the surge.

There are 512 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 24% of these people are in the ICU.

See more L.A. County information and a vaccine update later in this report.

California Friday Snapshot

Statewide, as of Thursday, April 16, California Department of Public Health officials confirmed 3,611,349 COVID-19 cases (up 2,451) with 59,587 deaths from the disease (up 79) since the pandemic began.

In California, 50% of Californians age 16 and older now have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Yesterday, April 15, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that all Californians age 16 and older are eligible to receive the vaccine.

“This historic milestone is a wonderful sign that Californians understand COVID-19 vaccinations are safe and effective and that our entire state is committed to getting to immunity,” said Dr. Tomás J. Aragón, State Public Health Officer and Director, California Department of Public Health. “Vaccinations are our best tool to ending the COVID-19 pandemic, and we will continue to ensure that every Californian who is old enough to get the vaccine has access to one.”

There were 2,451 newly recorded confirmed cases Thursday.

The 7-day positivity rate is 1.7%.

As of April 15, local health departments have reported 105,493 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 449 deaths statewide.

There have been 57,228,812 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 231,480 during the prior 24-hour reporting period.

As of April 16, providers have reported administering a total of 24,672,255 vaccine doses statewide.

The CDC reports that 30,970,800 doses have been delivered to entities within the state.

Numbers do not represent true day-to-day change as reporting may be delayed.

See more California information later in this report.

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital Friday Update

Note: Data wzas not available Friday, however, as of Wednesday, there were no cases pending, six patients were hospitalized in a dedicated COVID-19 unit, and a total of 1,205 patients had been treated and discharged since the pandemic began, hospital spokesman Patrick Moody said.

There were no additional deaths, keeping the total deaths at 147 people to date. The most recent death was March 21.

Privacy laws prohibit Henry Mayo from releasing the community of residence for patients who die at the hospital; residence info is reported by the L.A. County Public Health COVID-19 dashboard, which generally lags 48 hours behind.

Santa Clarita Valley Friday Update

As of 6 p.m. Thursday, the L.A. County Public Health COVID-19 dashboard recorded 298 deaths among Santa Clarita Valley residents since the pandemic began.

The following is the community breakdown of the 298 SCV residents who have died, according to the L.A. County dashboard:

* 257 lived in Santa Clarita

* 17 in Castaic

* 6 in Acton

* 5 in Stevenson Ranch

* 3 in Agua Dulce

* 3 in unincorporated Canyon Country

* 1 in Valencia

* 1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon

* 1 in Elizabeth Lake

* 1 in Lake Hughes

* 1 in Newhall

* 1 in unincorporated Saugus/Canyon Country

* 1 in Val Verde

Of the 27,557 confirmed COVID-19 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

* City of Santa Clarita: 20,175

* Castaic: 3,709 (incl. Pitchess Detention Center & North County Correctional Facility*)

* Stevenson Ranch: 1,132

* Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 836

* Acton: 468

* Val Verde: 336

* Agua Dulce: 277

* Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 191

* Saugus (unincorporated portion): 128

* Elizabeth Lake: 76

* Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 68

* Bouquet Canyon: 47

* Lake Hughes: 42

* Saugus/Canyon Country: 39

* Sand Canyon: 17

* San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 15

* Placerita Canyon: 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.

L.A. County Demographics — Cases by Age Group (excluding Long Beach and Pasadena)

* 0 to 4: 29019

* 5 to 11: 55402

* 12 to 17: 69489

* 18 to 29: 275638

* 30 to 49: 387144

* 50 to 64: 224852

* 65 to 79: 89521

* over 80: 32596

* Under Investigation 685

L.A. County Demographics — Deaths

Of the 36 new deaths reported today, 11 people that passed away were over the age of 80, 11 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, six people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, three people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49, and one person who died was between the ages of 18 and 29. Three deaths were reported by the City of Long Beach and one death was reported by the City of Pasadena.

L.A. County Vaccine Update

Nearly 5,400,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to people across Los Angeles County.

Of these, nearly 3,500,000 were first doses and more than 1,900,000 were second doses.

As of April 9, 71% of L.A. County residents 65 and older received at least one dose of the vaccine.

In total, 41% of the County’s population 16 and older have received at least one dose of vaccine.

Los Angeles County expanded the number of sites offering vaccination services across the county from 566 locations last week to 709 vaccinations sites across the county this week; 266 sites are in the hardest hit communities.

Vaccination sites across the county had capacity to administer nearly 734,000 doses this week. This week, 323,470 total doses were allocated to Los Angeles County.

Next week, Public Health is expecting to receive approximately 362,000 vaccine doses; an increase of nearly 39,000 doses from this week.

Approximately 68% of next week’s vaccine supply will be for first doses and 32% for second doses.

Of the 362,000 doses of vaccine the County expects to receive next week, 73% of doses will go to sites located in the most vulnerable communities.

Additional doses will be allocated directly from federal partners and the state to pharmacies, health clinics, FEMA sites, and multi-county entities.

Together, Public Health estimates over 600,000 doses of vaccine will be allocated to vaccination sites across the county next week.

Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status.

While COVID-19 vaccine supply remains very limited, Public Health continues to build an extensive network with pharmacies, federally qualified health centers, hospitals, health clinics, and community vaccination sites, including seven large-capacity sites:

* Dodger Stadium (operated by the city of Los Angeles)

* Six Flags Magic Mountain, 26101 Magic Mountain Pkwy, Valencia 91355

* California State University, Northridge, 18111 Nordhoff St, Northridge 91330

* Pomona Fairplex, 1101 W McKinley Ave, Pomona 91768

* The Forum, 3900 W Manchester Blvd, Inglewood 90305

* L.A. County Office of Education, 12830 Columbia Way, Downey 90242

* California State University, Los Angeles, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles 90032 (operated by FEMA)

The Six Flags Magic Mountain supersite will close after April 18, and be replaced the following day by supersites at College of the Canyons in Valencia and Palmdale Oasis Park Recreation Center in the Antelope Valley. Read more about that here.

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.

With the Regional Stay at Home Order was rescinded statewide as of January 25, all counties are now under the rules and framework of the Blueprint for a Safer Economy and color-coded tiers that indicate which activities and businesses are open based on local case rates and test positivity.

The California Department of Public Health modified Blueprint thresholds on March 12 after the state successfully met its first vaccine equity milestone of 2 million administered vaccine doses in some of the state’s hardest-hit communities.

After a request for a review of its data, Merced County was moved today from the Purple (widespread) Tier to Red (substantial) Tier. No counties in California remain in the Purple Tier, a significant milestone in the state’s use of its Blueprint for a Safer Economy.

Blueprint tiers are updated weekly on Tuesdays. The Blueprint summary as of April 13:

* 0 counties are currently in the Purple (widespread) Tier

* 22 counties are currently in the Red (substantial) Tier (including Los Angeles County)

* 33 counties are currently in the Orange (moderate) Tier

* 3 counties are in the Yellow (minimal) Tier

Find the status of activities in specific counties.

Vaccinate All 58
In order to increase the pace of COVID-19 vaccine distribution to those at greatest risk, the state is prioritizing individuals 65 and older to receive the vaccine as demand subsides among health care workers. This effort will help to reduce hospitalizations and save lives.

To sign up for a notification when you’re eligible for a vaccine, visit myturn.ca.gov.

For more information on the vaccine effort, visit the Vaccinate All 58 webpage.

Tracking Variants

Multiple variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 have been identified globally during the COVID-19 pandemic.

These genetic mutations are expected, and some emerge and then disappear, while others persist or become common. Most variants do not have a meaningful impact.

Public health becomes concerned about a variant when it affects COVID-19 transmission, severity, testing, treatment, or vaccine effectiveness.

Get more information here on the variants CDPH is currently monitoring.

‘Safe Schools for All’ Plan
Governor Newsom launched the Safe Schools for All Hub as a one-stop-shop for information about safe in-person instruction.

For more information on the transparency, accountability, and assistance measures related to California’s Safe Schools for All plan, visit the hub.

Travel Advisory

California updated its travel advisory on April 1, removing the previous recommendation that Californians not travel more than 120 miles from ones’ place of residence.

Postponing travel and staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from COVID-19, and Californians should continue to avoid non-essential travel outside of the state.

Non-essential travelers from other states or countries are strongly discouraged from entering California and should follow CDC travel guidance related to testing and self-quarantine.

California Demographics: Health Equity Dashboard

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted existing inequities in health that are the result of structural racism and poverty, and the disproportionate prevalence of underlying conditions such as asthma and heart disease among Latinos and African Americans.

As part of its commitment to reduce health inequities and ensure the best outcomes for all Californians, the state has launched a Health Equity Dashboard on www.covid19.ca.gov/equity/ that tracks California’s health equity measure and data by race and ethnicity, age group, and sexual orientation/gender identity.

California Testing & Turnaround Time
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 March 7 to March 13, the average time patients waited for test results was one day. During this same time period, 81% of patients received test results in one day and 95% received them within two days. The testing turnaround time dashboard (PDF) is updated weekly.

All four tiers in the Testing Prioritization Guidance originally dated July 14, 2020, have equal priority for testing.

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 April 12, there have been 470 cases of MIS-C have been reported statewide. To protect patient confidentiality in counties with fewer than 11 cases, CDPH officials 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 are critical to preventing long-term complications.

Protect Yourself and Your Family: Your Actions Save Lives

Protect yourself, family, friends, and community by following these prevention measures:

* 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.

* Avoiding non-essential travel, and practicing self-quarantine for 14 days after arrival if you leave the state.

* Keeping interactions limited to people who live in your household.

* 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.

* Getting tested if you believe you’ve been exposed. Free, confidential testing is available statewide.

* Getting vaccinated when it’s your turn.

* Adding your phone to the fight by signing up for COVID-19 exposure notifications from CA Notify.

* Answering the call if a contact tracer from the CA COVID Team or local health department tries to connect.

* 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 healthcare provider before seeking medical care so that appropriate precautions can be taken.

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, 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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