The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health on Friday confirmed 31 new deaths and 1,509 new cases of COVID-19, with a total of 5,336 cases and 54 deaths reported among Santa Clarita Valley residents since the pandemic began.

Of the new cases reported by Public Health Friday (excluding Long Beach and Pasadena), more than 68% occurred in people 49 years old or younger.

There are 1,168 patients with confirmed cases currently hospitalized in L.A. County, 32% of them in the ICU. This is the third straight day of daily hospitalizations under 1,200.

Test results are available for more than 2,257,000 individuals with 10% of all people testing positive.

To date, Public Health has identified 238,458 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County, and a total of 5,732 deaths.

“We wish the many families experiencing the sorrow of losing a loved one to COVID-19 healing and peace,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health.

L.A. County Turns Purple; No Hair Salons Yet
Earlier Friday, the state revised its recovery roadmap and created an updated Tier Framework that classifies each California County based on their daily case rate and positivity rate.

L.A. County has been placed in Tier 1 (purple) based on our average daily case rate for the prior two weeks of 13.1 new cases per 100,000 residents.

Tier 1 is characterized by widespread community transmission.

Although the state on Friday also revised slightly the list of permitted activities in Tier 1 to allow for the re-opening of both hair salons for indoor services and indoor shopping centers for permitted retail establishments, the County Health Officer Order has not been changed to permit these re-openings.

As such, since county orders may be more restrictive than state guidance, all current restrictions remain in place until L.A. County Public Health officials and the Board of Supervisors have an opportunity to review the suggested guidelines from the state and take actions that are appropriate for our county.

California Friday Snapshot
Statewide, as of Thursday, August 27, the California Department of Public Health confirmed a total of 688,858 COVID-19 cases (up 5,329, or 0.8%), with 12,690 deaths from the disease (up 140, or 1.1%).

There are 4,205 confirmed hospitalizations (down 88) and 1,062 ICU hospitalizations in the state.

California’s 7-day positivity rate is 5.7% and the 14-day positivity rate is 6.0%.

As of August 27, local health departments have reported 31,468 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 149 deaths statewide.

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

COVID Around the World: USA Tops in Cases, Deaths
Worldwide, 24,573,933 people have been infected by COVID-19 while 833,943 people have died as of 3:28 Friday afternoon, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

More than 5,906,615 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 181,655.

The United States has the highest case and death rate in the world. By comparison, Brazil, at #2, had confirmed 3,761,391 million cases and 118,649 deaths as of Friday afternoon.

Santa Clarita Valley Friday Update
The L.A. County Public Health COVID-19 data dashboard as of the latest update at 8 p.m. Wednesday, August 26 confirms 54 SCV residents have died of the virus since the pandemic began.

Of the dead, 42 lived in the city of Santa Clarita, 5 in Castaic, 2 in Acton, 2 in Stevenson Ranch, 1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon, 1 in Val Verde, and 1 in unincorporated Valencia.

Of the 5,336 cases reported to Public Health among SCV residents to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 2,933

Castaic: 1,899 (most from Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility*)

Stevenson Ranch: 151

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 117

Acton: 60

Val Verde: 59

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 40

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 26

Agua Dulce: 24

Bouquet Canyon: 6

Elizabeth Lake: 6

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 6

Sand Canyon: 6

Lake Hughes: 2

Saugus/Canyon Country: 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 now releases statistics weekly, on Wednesdays, unless there is a drastic change in the number of cases or a COVID-related death has been confirmed.

As of Wednesday, August 26, of the 6,598 people tested at Henry Mayo to date, 774 tested positive, 7,552 were negative, 4 were pending, 11 patients were hospitalized in a dedicated unit receiving ICU-level care (up from 7 the previous Wednesday), and a total of 232 COVID-19 patients have been discharged so far. Fatalities at the hospital stand at 21, Moody confirmed.

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.

L.A. County Demographics
Of the 31 new deaths reported Friday, 19 people that passed away (excluding Long Beach and Pasadena) were over the age of 80 years old, nine people were between 65 and 79 years old, two people were between 50 and 64 years old, and one person was between 30 and 49 years old.

Twenty-six people had underlying health conditions including 15 people over 80 years old, eight people between 65 and 79 years old, two people between 50 and 64 years old, and one person between 30 and 49 years old.

Countywide, 93% of people who died had underlying health conditions.

Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 5,397 people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health); 51% of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 24% 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.

More COVID Cases in L.A. County Kids
More than 21,000 COVID-19 cases have occurred in children ages 0 to 17 years old.

“COVID-19 spreads among children the same way it spreads among adults – exposure to symptomatic or asymptomatic people infected with the virus,” Ferrer said. “As we look at ways to safely offer opportunities for children to be supported in their learning, we must do so taking every precaution to limit exposures and spread of COVID-19. That is why we ask that every operator of child-care, daycare, day camps, pods, and recreational programming implements all the mandatory infection control and physical distancing directives attached to the County Health Officer Order.”

More MIS-C Cases in L.A. County Kids
Public Health is reporting three additional cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C. This brings the total cases of MIS-C in L.A. County to 28 children.

MIS-C affects children under 21 years old who may have been exposed to COVID-19 or had COVID-19. Different body parts can become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs, and there can be lifelong health impacts.

Twenty-eight percent of these cases were between the ages of 0 and 5 years old, 39% were between 6 and 12 years old, and 32% were between 13 and 20 years old. The majority of patients (71%) were Latino/Latinx.

There continue to be no reports of deaths in children associated with MIS-C in L.A. County.

If you believe your child may be displaying MIS-C symptoms, contact your primary care provider. If you do not have a primary care provider, dial 2-1-1 and LA County will help connect you to one.

Public Health advises physicians to consider for MIS-C in patient children under 21 years old and to notify the department immediately of any cases.

If You Test Positive
Public Health has a dedicated call line for any person with a positive lab result. If you are positive for COVID-19 and have not yet connected with a public health specialist, the department urges you to call 1-833-540-0473 to connect with a public health specialist who can provide information about services and support.

Residents who do not have COVID-19 should continue to call 211 for resources or more information.
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.

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California Blueprint for a Safer Economy
Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday unveiled the Blueprint for a Safer Economy, a statewide plan for reducing COVID-19 and keeping Californians healthy and safe.

The plan 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 County Monitoring Data
As of Friday, a total of 34 California counties including Los Angeles and Ventura are required to close indoor operations for certain sectors based on the July 13 order to slow community transmission.

Counties on the County Monitoring List for three or more consecutive days must have closed indoor operations for additional activities.

The July 13 order specifies that these indoor operations shall remain closed, even when a county is removed from the county monitoring list until the state health officer modifies the order and authorizes re-opening. The state is actively reassessing the July 13 order in light of evolving scientific evidence regarding disease transmission and the risk of transmission in different settings and will provide updates in the coming week.

For more information, visit the County Data Monitoring webpage.

California Testing
There have been 11,010,637 tests conducted in California, an increase of 92,222 over the prior 24-hour reporting period.

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

The CDPH released updated testing guidance on July 23 that focuses on testing hospitalized individuals with signs or symptoms of COVID-19 and people being tested as part of the investigation and management of outbreaks, including contact tracing.

The testing guidance also prioritizes individuals who have COVID-19 symptoms and individuals without symptoms who fall into high-risk categories, including people who live and work in nursing homes, homeless shelters and prisons, healthcare workers, and patients in hospitals.

The new guidance will ensure that Californians who most need tests get them even if there are limited supplies.

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 August 24, there have been 47 cases of MIS-C reported statewide, an increase of 8 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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