The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health on Friday confirmed 1,414 new cases of COVID-19 and 38 new deaths due to the virus countywide, and a total of 2,823 confirmed COVID-19 cases have been reported in the Santa Clarita Valley since the pandemic began, 5 more local cases than reported Thursday.

In the SCV, 27 people have died of the virus to date — 21 resided in the city of Santa Clarita, 2 in Acton, 1 in Castaic, 1 in unincorporated Valencia, 1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon, and 1 in a community not yet named.

Countywide, Public Health has reported 79,609 positive cases of COVID-19 and a total of 3,063 deaths to date. Ninety-three percent of people who died had underlying health conditions.

Statewide, the California Department of Public Health has reported a total of 165,416 confirmed cases (up 4,317 reported Thursday) and 5,360 deaths (up 70 from Thursday) from COVID-19. Currently, there are 3,428 confirmed hospitalizations and 1,128 ICU hospitalizations.

As of June 18, local health departments have reported 12,914 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 80 deaths statewide.

California’s positivity rate – a key indicator of community spread – remains stable in the 14-day average. Hospitalization rates remain stable over the long-term while showing a slight uptick in the 14-day average.

Santa Clarita Valley Friday Update

Of the 2,823 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 938

Castaic: 1,727 (includes Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility*)

Stevenson Ranch: 44

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 39

Val Verde: 23

Acton: 19

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 12

Agua Dulce: 9

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 5

Elizabeth Lake: 4

Bouquet Canyon: 1

Lake Hughes: 1

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 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 13th COVID-related death on Wednesday, June 17, according to hospital spokesman Patrick Moody, which brought the SCV’s total fatalities to 27.

As of Wednesday, of the 2,343 persons tested at Henry Mayo to date, 249 tested positive, 2,328 were negative, 77 were pending and 7 patients were hospitalized in a dedicated unit receiving ICU-level care. A total of 94 COVID-19 patients have been discharged so far.

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

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, he said.

L.A. County Demographics
Thirty-one people who died were over the age of 65 years old and seven people who died were between the ages of 41 and 65 years old. Thirty-two people had underlying health conditions including 26 people over the age of 65 years old and six people between the ages of 41 to 65 years old.

Upon further investigation, 32 cases and four deaths reported earlier were not L.A. County residents.

There are 1,446 people currently hospitalized, 29% of them are in the ICU and 21% are on ventilators.

“Our deepest sympathies go out to the many people across our county who have lost a loved one or friend to COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health.

Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 2,844 people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health); 42% of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 29% among White residents, 17% among Asian residents, 11% among African American residents, less than 1% among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander residents and 1% among residents identifying with other races.

Public Health continues to assess indicators on the Recovery Dashboard to understand how COVID-19 is affecting communities and the capacity to treat people who may become seriously ill.

Based on data from the Recovery Dashboard and key recovery indicators, Public Health is noting that the 7-day average of deaths per day are decreasing across all races and ethnicities, however African Americans, Latinos/Latinx and Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are still experiencing a disproportionate number of deaths from COVID-19.

The average daily deaths were at their highest in early May at 45 or 46 deaths per day, and in early June, the average daily deaths range between 20 and 30. The daily number of hospitalizations has decreased as well, from peaks of over 1,900 to now between 1,350 to 1,450 per day, although there is a slight increase in the last few days.

L.A. County continues to be on target for maintaining adequate hospital capacity, including capacity in intensive care units and having an adequate number of ventilators, and meeting the goal of testing 15,000 people per day. The county is also on target for contacting tracing and other indicators found on the Recovery Dashboard.

L.A. County Testing; Face Coverings
Testing capacity continues to increase in L.A. County, with testing results available for nearly 891,000 individuals and 8% of people testing positive.

“Since May 13, Public Health has been requiring that everyone wear a cloth face covering when in contact with others not in their household,” Ferrer said. “A lot of questions are raised about why this is important, especially by individuals who are not worried about becoming infected themselves. The important issue here is that we are not asking you to wear the face covering to protect yourself. We ask you to cover your mouth and nose to protect others, especially since you can be infected with COVID-19 and have no illness symptoms; this is how you keep your respiratory droplets from reaching someone else.

“And even if you tested negative, that negative test only tells you your status the day you were tested,” Ferrer said. “You could become infected the very next day and unknowingly pass on COVID-19 to others. If you were already positive for COVID-19, it is still not clear that you have immunity from the virus, which means you could become infected again and therefore pass along the virus to others. So please continue to always wear a cloth face covering when you are around anyone else, even if this is just passing by someone else.”

Stage 3 Modified Health Order — Effective June 19
A modified Health Officer Order and directives for the reopening of additional businesses were issued Thursday with an effective date of Friday, June 19.

The Health Officer Order allows for the following sectors to reopen once they implement the required protocols for infection control and distancing:

* Cardrooms, satellite wagering facilities and racetracks with no spectators;

* Personal care services including esthetician, skincare and cosmetology services; electrology; nail salons; body art professionals, tattoo parlors, microblading and permanent make-up; piercing shops; and massage therapy;

* Bars, wineries, breweries and tasting rooms.

The Health Officer Order contains protocols for all businesses that are permitted to reopen to ensure it is done as safely as possible for employees, customers and residents.

All sectors are reopening with reduced occupancy. Employees and visitors to these businesses will need to wear a cloth face covering when around other people and practice physical distancing of at least 6 feet at all times. Some employees may be required to wear face shields.

It is important for everyone to follow the directives and to do their part every day to keep everyone as safe as possible. Businesses should take the time to put all of the protocols in place before reopening. The directives will be available online and are contained in sector-specific protocols that inform all re-openings.

Best Protections

Because this virus has not changed and is still easily transmitted among people in contact with each other, 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.

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, or until they receive a negative result.

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.

People who have underlying health conditions remain at much greater risk for serious illness from COVID-19, so it will continue to be very important for the county’s vulnerable residents to stay at home as much as possible, to have groceries and medicine delivered, and to call their providers immediately if they have even mild symptoms.

The 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.

Here’s the L.A. County incident report for Friday, June 19, 2020:

[Open .pdf in new window]

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 about double their population representation across all adult age categories.

For Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, overall numbers are low, but there is nearly a four-fold difference 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.

Testing in California
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.

As of June 18, there have been 3,155,702 tests conducted in California and reported to the state Department of Public Health, an increase of 81,172 tests over the prior 24-hour reporting period.

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.

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 such 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.

New 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.

California continues to issue guidance on preparing and protecting California from COVID-19. Consolidated guidance is available on the California Department of Public Health’s Guidance webpage.