The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health on Friday reported 24 new deaths and 4,544 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 countywide, as officials called for tightened safety measures set to take effect on Monday.

The SCV has now tallied 9,458 confirmed COVID-19 cases — 106 more than Thursday — and 82 deaths from the virus since the pandemic began.

Because the county’s five-day average of new cases is 4,751, a new temporary Health Officer Order will be issued Monday that will require additional safety measures across sectors through Dec. 20.

Read more here.

Testing results are available for more than 3,681,714 individuals with 10% of all people testing positive for COVID-19.

There are 1,893 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 countywide; 24% of the patients are in the ICU.

This is a 78% increase from a month ago when daily hospitalizations were 747. The last time numbers were this high at L.A. County’s hospitals was in August.

To date, Public Health has counted 7,604 confirmed COVID-19 deaths and 387,793 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. county.

“To those who recently lost loved ones from COVID-19, we send you wishes for healing and peace,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of L.A. County Public Health. “With the recent surge of COVID-19 across our community, we must take additional safety measures to reduce the risk of illness and death from this terrible virus and protect our healthcare system.”

See more L.A. County updates later in this report.

California Friday Snapshot

Statewide, as of Thursday, November 26, the California Department of Public Health confirmed a total of 1,171,324 COVID-19 cases (up 12,635), with 19,033 deaths from the disease (up 54) since the pandemic began.

There are 6,647 confirmed hospitalizations and 1,595 ICU hospitalizations in the state, continuing an upward trend.

California’s 7-day positivity rate is 6.2% and the 14-day positivity rate is 6.1%, continuing a sharp upward trend.

As case numbers continue to rise statewide, the number of patients who will have serious outcomes will also increase.

As of November 26, local health departments have reported 51,801 confirmed positive cases in healthcare workers and 218 deaths statewide.

There have been 23,315,918 COVID-19 tests conducted in California, an increase of 219,173 over the prior 24-hour reporting period.

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

See more California info later in this report.

Screencap from the Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering COVID-19 dashboard, showing COVID cases in the United States as of Friday afternoon, November 27, 2020.

COVID Worldwide: 1.4 Million People Dead; U.S. Deaths Near 265,000

Worldwide, 61,473,875 people have been infected by COVID-19 while 1,440,207 people have died of the virus as of 1:26 p.m. Friday Pacific Time, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

More than 13,047,202 Americans have been diagnosed with COVID-19. The number of people in the U.S. who have died due to the virus has surpassed 264,624.

With 4.25% of the world’s population (328.2 million) and more than 20% of the confirmed COVID-19 cases, the U.S. also continues to lead the world in deaths.

By comparison, Brazil (population 209.5 million) is No. 2 in deaths with 171,460, and No. 3 in cases with 6,204,220. India (population 1.353 billion) is No. 2 in cases, with 9,309,787 confirmed cases and 135,715 deaths as of Friday afternoon.

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital Friday Update

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital reported its 37th death due to COVID-19 on Wednesday, Nov. 25, following the hospital’s 36th death Tuesday, according to Henry Mayo spokesman Patrick Moody.

As of Nov. 25, of the 12,701 people tested at Henry Mayo to date, 1,305 tested positive, 14,694 were negative, 5 were pending, 42 patients were hospitalized in a dedicated unit receiving ICU-level care (22 more than last Wednesday), a total of 376 COVID-19 patients have been treated and discharged so far, Moody said.

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital releases complete statistics weekly, generally on Wednesdays, unless a new death occurs, he said.

Discrepancies in the testing numbers at the hospital are due to some patients being tested multiple times.

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

Santa Clarita Valley Friday Update

As of 8 p.m. Wednesday, November 25, the latest update to its COVID-19 data dashboard, L.A. County Public Health reported a total of 82 deaths in the Santa Clarita Valley since the pandemic began.

Of those 82 SCV residents who have died, 67 lived in Santa Clarita, 5 in Castaic, 3 in Acton, 3 in Stevenson Ranch, 1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon, 1 in unincorporated Canyon Country, 1 in Val Verde, and 1 in unincorporated Valencia, according to the data dashboard.

Of the 9,458 confirmed COVID-19 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 6,040

Castaic: 2,392 (includes Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility*)

Stevenson Ranch: 300

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 225

Val Verde: 119

Acton: 112

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 63

Agua Dulce: 59

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 48

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 35

Bouquet Canyon: 16

Saugus/Canyon Country: 14

Elizabeth Lake: 15

Lake Hughes: 10

Sand Canyon: 7

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 3

*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.

Stay at Home as Much as Possible

Public Health reminds everyone to stay home as much as possible and avoid seeing people you don’t live with, even if you don’t feel sick. Residents are also reminded to wear a face-covering over their nose and mouth whenever they are outside their home and around others, as COVID-19 can be unintentionally spread to other people.

We can also reduce transmission by keeping a physical distance of at least 6-feet when outside and around others. Taking these simple safety precautions, in addition to washing your hands frequently, will save lives.

Additionally, it is very important that if you are even mildly sick or think you were exposed to someone with COVID-19 that you stay home and away from other people, especially those at greater risk of becoming seriously ill from COVID-19 and consider being tested for COVID-19.

More L.A. County Demographics: Age

Of the 35 new deaths reported Friday, 15 people who died were over the age of 80 years old, 11 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, five people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64 years old and two people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49 years old.

Twenty-four people who died had underlying health conditions including 10 people over the age of 80 years old, 10 people between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, three people between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, and one person between the ages of 30 and 49 years old. One death was reported by the City of Long Beach and one death was reported by the City of Pasadena.

Ninety-three percent of the people who have died from COVID-19 to date had underlying health conditions. Hypertension, high cholesterol, obesity, and diabetes are the most common underlying health conditions among people hospitalized with COVID-19. Many people have multiple underlying health conditions.

Cases by Age Group (Los Angeles County only — excluding Long Beach and Pasadena)
Young people are driving the surge of the virus’s spread with disastrous results for our elderly.

In the last month, the case rate for residents age 18 to 29 years old has more than doubled, from 11.5 cases per 100,000 people to 25 cases per 100,000 people.

The second-highest group, residents ages 30 through 49 years old, has nearly doubled from 9.4 cases to 18 cases per 100,000 people.

* 0 to 4 6787

* 5 to 11 14778

* 12 to 17 18101

* 18 to 29 92034

* 30 to 49 122868

* 50 to 64 69955

* 65 to 79 27304

* over 80 11553

* Under Investigation 2399

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 Blueprint for a Safer Economy

Governor Gavin Newsom’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy 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 Testing
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 November 8 to November 14, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.3 days. The testing turnaround time dashboard (PDF) is updated weekly.

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

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 November 23, 136 cases of MIS-C have been reported statewide, seven more than 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, 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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