Los Angeles County Public Health officials on Friday confirmed 101 new deaths and 947 new cases of COVID-19 countywide, with 26,763 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley. In addition, the L.A. County Health Officer Order has been updated to closely align with the State’s re-opening framework as L.A. County moves into the red tier effective Monday, March 15.

On Friday, the State announced two million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered to people in the most under-resourced communities across the state which now allows L.A. County to move to the less restrictive red tier.

Additional safety modifications are required or recommended for certain sectors. The changes go into effect on Monday at 12:01 a.m.

“As certain activities are allowed to resume, we urge all residents to proceed with caution. COVID-19 case rates, hospitalizations, and deaths continue to fall, but still remain at substantial levels,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health.

The modifications to the Health Officer Order include the following:

– Museum, Zoos and Aquariums can open indoors at 25% capacity.

– Gyms, Fitness Centers, Yoga and Dance Studios can open indoors at 10% capacity with masking requirement for all indoor activities.

– Movie Theatres can open indoors at 25% capacity with reserved seating only where each group is seated with at least 6 feet of distance in all directions between any other groups.

– Retail and Personal Care Services can increase capacity to 50% with masking required at all times and for all services.

– Restaurants can open indoors at 25% max capacity under the following conditions: 8 feet distancing between tables; one household per table with a limit of 6 people; the HVAC system is in good working order and has been evaluated, and to the maximum extent possible ventilation has been increased. Public Health strongly recommends that all restaurant employees interacting with customers indoors are provided with additional masking protection (above the currently required face shield over face masks); this can be fit tested N95 masks, KN95 masks, or double masks and a face shield. In addition, Public Health strongly recommends that all employees working indoors are informed about and offered opportunities to be vaccinated. Outdoor dining can accommodate up to six people per table from 3 different households.

– Indoor Shopping Malls can increase capacity to 50% with common areas remaining closed; food courts can open at 25% capacity adhering to the restaurant guidance for indoor dining.

– Institutes of Higher Education can re-open all permitted activities with required safety modifications except for residential housing which remains under current restrictions for the Spring semester.

– Schools are permitted to re-open for in-person instruction for students in grades 7-12 adhering to all state and county directives.

– Private gatherings can occur indoors with up to 3 separate households, with masking and distancing required at all times. People who are fully vaccinated can gather in small numbers indoors with other people who are fully vaccinated without required masking and distancing.

Businesses must implement all the requirements in the sector-specific Public Health protocols.

It is critical that directives and infection protocols are followed to minimize COVID-19 spread as much as possible.

To date, Public Health identified 1,208,913 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 22,404 deaths.

“Our deepest sympathies go out to everyone who lost someone they cared about to COVID-19,” said Ferrer.

There are 1,015 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 28% of these people are in the ICU.

Testing results are available for more than 5,937,000 individuals with 19% of people testing positive. Today’s daily test positivity rate is 2.0%.

California Friday Snapshot

Earlier today, CDPH announced that 2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to Californians in some of the state’s hardest-hit communities, increasing immunity where the state’s transmission rates and disease burden have been the highest during the pandemic.

With this equity metric met, and because vaccines slow the spread of disease and serious illness, the previously announced update to the Blueprint for a Safer Economy to account for progress with vaccine administration goes into effect.

Also, the state launched an updated COVID-19 data dashboard to help improve tracking of the pandemic.

Due to these improvements and updates, the state’s reported number of cases will have additional features, testing positivity rates will be more precise, and the number and investigation of deaths will go through additional confirmation.

Statewide, as of Thursday, March 11, California Department of Public Health officials confirmed 3,520,333 COVID-19 cases (up 3,471) with 54,878 deaths from the disease (up 288) since the pandemic began.

There are 3,335 confirmed hospitalizations and 966 ICU hospitalizations in the state, continuing a downward trend.

As of March 11, local health departments have reported 98,570 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 410 deaths statewide.

There have been 49,535,787 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 92,180 during the prior 24-hour reporting period.

The 7-day positivity rate is 2.3%.

Numbers do not represent true day-over-day change as these results may include cases from prior to yesterday.

As of March 12, providers have reported administering a total of 11,169,839 vaccine doses statewide.

The CDC reports that 15,384,710 doses have been delivered to entities within the state, and 15,743,525 vaccine doses, which includes the first and second dose, have been shipped. 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

No cases are pending, four patients are hospitalized in a dedicated COVID-19 unit receiving ICU-level care, and a total of 1,172 patients have been treated and discharged, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital spokesman Patrick Moody said Friday.

Hospitalizations at Henry Mayo peaked on January 8, at 104 people.

The number of people who died at the hospital since the pandemic began remains at 145; the most recent death was reported Monday. According to Moody, 74 of the fatalities occurred in 2020, while 71 people have died so far this year.

Henry Mayo releases complete statistics weekly, usually on Wednesdays, unless one or more new deaths occur.

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. Wednesday, the latest update of the L.A. County Public Health dashboard counted 276 deaths among Santa Clarita Valley residents since the pandemic began.

Of the 276 SCV residents who have died, 237 lived in Santa Clarita, 17 in Castaic, seven in Acton, three in Agua Dulce, three in unincorporated Canyon Country, three in Stevenson Ranch, one in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon, one in Lake Hughes, one in Newhall, one in unincorporated Saugus/Canyon Country, one in Val Verde, and one in Valencia.

Of the 26,763 confirmed COVID-19 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

* City of Santa Clarita: 19,577

* Castaic: 3,636 (incl. Pitchess Detention Center & North County Correctional Facility*)

* Stevenson Ranch: 1,091

* Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 806

* Acton: 456

* Val Verde: 323

* Agua Dulce: 259

* Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 185

* Saugus (unincorporated portion): 132

* Elizabeth Lake: 75

* Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 66

* Bouquet Canyon: 45

* Lake Hughes: 40

* 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: 22543

* 5 to 11: 54499

* 12 to 17: 68345

* 18 to 29: 270648

* 30 to 49: 381216

* 50 to 64: 221443

* 65 to 79: 88465

* over 80: 32176

* Under Investigation 6807

L.A. County Demographics — Deaths

Of the 101 new deaths reported today, 30 people that passed away were over the age of 80, 31 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, 12 people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, 11 people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49, and two people who died were between the ages of 18 and 29. Ten deaths were reported by the City of Long Beach and five deaths were reported by the City of Pasadena.

L.A. County Vaccine Update

Custodians and janitors, public transit workers, and airport ground crew workers are all now eligible to be vaccinated. Emergency service workers including social workers who handle cases of violence, abuse or neglect and foster parents providing emergency housing for young people, are also eligible to be vaccinated.

Healthcare workers, residents and staff at long-term care facilities, people 65 or older, education and childcare workers, food and agriculture workers, emergency service workers, and law enforcement personnel will continue to be eligible if they’ve not yet been vaccinated.

In addition to the residents and workers already eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, next week, on Monday, March 15, vaccine eligibility will open up to residents between the ages 16 through 64 who have underlying health conditions or disabilities that put them at the highest risk of becoming very sick from COVID-19.

Providers and healthcare facilities are working to use their health record systems to identify patients who have these conditions and reach out to them so they can be vaccinated.

To date, nearly 2,742,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered across the county.

Of those vaccinated, 899,527 people have received second doses.

This includes providers both in the county network and those providers receiving direct vaccine allocations from the state and the federal government.

Next week, Public Health is expecting to receive 260,000 doses of vaccine, approximately 60,000 less than we received this week.

The vaccine supply next week once again falls far short of the more than 600,000 doses that the provider network is currently capable of delivering.

Public Health will not receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccine next week, or the following week.

Officials expect to begin receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine again at the end of the month.

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 County continues to expand mobile vaccination services to better meet the needs of those in underserved communities.

This coming week, County mobile teams will go out to 79 senior housing and senior services locations to provide vaccinations, approximately double the number of sites reached this week.

For information about vaccine appointments in L.A. County and when your turn is coming up, to sign up for a vaccination newsletter, and much more, visit www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish). Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status.

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.

Blueprint summary as of March 12:

* 21 counties are currently in the Purple (widespread) Tier (including Los Angeles County)

* 33 counties are currently in the Red (substantial) Tier

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

* 1 county is in the Yellow (minimal) Tier

The state released updates to the state’s reopening framework on Friday, March 5. The updates will allow outdoor ballparks, stadiums, and theme parks to open with significantly reduced capacity, mandatory masking, and other public health precautions. The updates will take effect on April 1.

Blueprint tiers are updated weekly on Tuesdays. Find the status of activities in specific counties.

March 11 Blueprint Update

CDPH updated public health guidance in Governor Newsom’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy on Thursday, March 11, to allow for additional safe and sustainable reopening activities in the state.

Breweries, Wineries, Distilleries

Beginning March 13, breweries, wineries, and distilleries that do not serve meals may open outdoors only with modifications in the Purple (widespread) and Red (substantial) tiers.

The modifications include ensuring that patrons have reservations and patrons observe a 90-minute time limit. Service for on-site consumption must end by 8 p.m. (Previously, and through March 12, breweries and distilleries not serving meals were closed in the Purple and Red tiers).

In the Orange (moderate) Tier, indoor operations may begin with 25 percent of maximum capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer. In the Yellow (minimal) tier, indoor operations may increase to 50 percent of maximum capacity or 200 people, whichever is fewer.

The updated guidance does not apply to breweries, wineries, and distilleries that provide meals. Those establishments should continue to follow the restaurant guidance.

Bars

Beginning March 13, bars that do not serve meals remain closed in the Purple (widespread) and Red (substantial) tiers. In the Orange (moderate) tier, bars may begin outdoor operations with modifications. In the Yellow (minimal) tier, bars may begin indoor operations with modifications of 25 percent maximum capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer.

Overnight Sleepaway Camps

Beginning June 1, overnight sleepaway camps will be allowed to resume with modifications in the Red, Orange, and Yellow tiers.

More information about these updates, and which activities are allowed in the various tiers, can be found here.

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 Public Health has issued an updated travel advisory. Postponing travel and staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from COVID-19.

Non-essential travelers from other states or countries are strongly discouraged from entering California and should adhere to the state’s self-quarantine procedures for 10 days.

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 February 21 to February 27, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.2 days. During this same time period, 78% of patients received test results in one day and 94% 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 March 8, 357 cases of MIS-C have been reported statewide, 26 more than the previous week (down from 29 the week before that). 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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