The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Friday 21 additional deaths and 889 new cases of COVID-19 countywide, with 23 new cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

This new data brings Los Angeles County death totals to 31,576, county case totals to 2,829,091 and Santa Clarita Valley case totals to 72,172 since March of 2020.

Note that 291 additional cases have been added to the cumulative total of positive cases due to a backlog of cases from the surge.

Public Health reported 21 additional deaths and 889 new positive cases of COVID-19. Of the 21 new deaths reported today, two people were between the ages of 30-49, four people were between the ages of 50-64, five were between the ages of 65-79, and nine were aged 80 years or older. Of the 21 newly reported deaths, 18 people had underlying health conditions. Information on the one death reported by the City of Long Beach is available at www.LongBeach.gov.

Today’s positivity rate is 0.7%.

There are 350 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 11,651,000 individuals, with 22% of people testing positive.

Homebound Vaccination Program Expanded

With a more contagious COVID-19 subvariant increasingly circulating in Los Angeles County, expanding vaccination services to homebound residents is even more critical to ensure the County’s most vulnerable residents are protected. As a result Public Health is expanding its mobile vaccine outreach to assist residents who are unable to travel to a clinic or pharmacy.

Alongside the Public Health Mobile Vaccine Team, Public Health currently partners with six external mobile providers to reach homebound residents. Getting all eligible residents vaccinated, especially residents at elevated risk who are not able to travel to a vaccine site, is essential to preventing severe illness or death, as the vaccines provide the best protection from COVID-19. Unvaccinated residents are about 4 times more likely to be hospitalized for COVID-19 when compared to those who are fully vaccinated, but not boosted. When adding a booster dose, protection increased such that those who were vaccinated and boosted were 5 times less likely to be hospitalized than people who were unvaccinated.

Since March of last year, approximately 9,960 residents considered homebound were vaccinated in L.A. County. The number of residents who are homebound and unable to access vaccination services outside the home is estimated to be between 10,000-15,000. This estimate is based on an examination of medical claims data by several public and private health care plans in the county that was requested by Public Health.

For the week ending March 5, 2022, 102 homebound referrals were received by the Homebound Project. Of these, nearly 90% were vaccinated within two weeks and nearly 80% lived in under-resourced communities.

An additional 231 residents who were unable to travel to vaccination sites were also served by other providers for the same week ending March 5. Of these, more than 60% resided in under-resourced communities.

Also, this week, Public Health began contacting more than 1,000 social service agencies that work with seniors or the homebound and provided them with information on how to request homebound services for their clients and if they needed a mobile vaccine team. These efforts will continue for the next few weeks.

For assistance on homebound services, the Public Health Vaccine Call Center is available at (833) 540-0473 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. seven days a week for information on COVID-19 vaccines. Residents can also visit “How to Get Vaccinated” for more information.

“We continue to extend our deepest sympathies to everyone mourning the loss of a loved one from COVID,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Protecting the County’s most vulnerable residents also means expanding our outreach services and bringing the vaccines to their homes if they are unable to travel. As the county sees growing cases of the more-infectious BA.2 subvariant, everyone, especially those who are at elevated risk or homebound, should be fully vaccinated and boosted and Public Health thanks our partners who are working to provide access to these life-saving vaccines for these at-risk residents.”

A wide range of data and dashboards on COVID-19 from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health are available on the Public Health website at http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

To keep workplaces and schools open, residents and workers are asked to:

– Get tested to help reduce the spread, especially if you traveled for the holidays, have had a possible exposure, or have symptoms, or are gathering with people not in your household

– Adhere to masking requirements when indoors or at crowded outdoor spaces, regardless of vaccination status

– Residents are legally required to be isolated if they have a positive COVID test result and vaccinated close contacts with symptoms and unvaccinated close contacts need to be quarantined.

For information on where you can get tested, please visit www.covid19.lacounty.gov/testing/.

For updated isolation and quarantine guidance, please visit www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective and are recommended for everyone 5 years old and older to help protect against COVID-19. Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status. Appointments are not needed at all Public Health vaccination sites and many community sites where first, second, and third doses are available.

To find a vaccination site near you, or to make an appointment, please visit:

www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) or

www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish).

William S. Hart Union High School District COVID-19 Dashboard

The William S. Hart Union High School District provides ongoing information to our community regarding COVID-19 cases while maintaining confidentiality for our students and staff. The COVID-19 case data below is updated regularly to indicate any currently confirmed COVID-19 positive case in staff members or students by school site. The data below is specific to individuals who have been physically present on a District campus within 14 days of receiving a positive COVID-19 test. The District, in conjunction with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, conducts contact tracing and directly notifies and provides resources for parents of students identified as close contacts (6 feet or less for 15 cumulative minutes or more).

Note: To see the communication process in the event of a positive COVID-19 case, visit https://www.hartdistrict.org/apps/pages/covid-19dashboard.

Student Dashboard

Staff Dashboard

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital currently has zero tests pending, three patients in the hospital, a total of 2,219 patients who have been treated and discharged since the pandemic began, with no additional deaths, spokesman Michael Crawford confirmed. Henry Mayo has reported 228 deaths to date.

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 generally lags 48 hours behind.

Santa Clarita Valley Friday Update
As of 4:30 p.m. Friday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard no additional deaths leaving the total of number of deaths from COVID-19 at 454 since the onset of the pandemic.

The following is the community breakdown per L.A. County’s dashboard:

Santa Clarita: 371

Castaic: 28

Acton: 17

Stevenson Ranch: 14

Unincorporated Canyon Country: 9 (revised from 10)

Agua Dulce: 5

Val Verde: 3 (revised from 4)

Valencia: 2

Unincorporated Bouquet Canyon: 2

Elizabeth Lake: 1

Newhall: 1

unincorporated Saugus/Canyon Country: 1

Lake Hughes: 0 (**revised from 1)

SCV Cases

Of the 72,172 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

Santa Clarita: 53,632

Castaic: 7,088

Stevenson Ranch: 4,002

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 2,581

Acton: 1,513

Val Verde: 829

Agua Dulce: 779

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 668

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 309

Elizabeth Lake: 203

Bouquet Canyon: 149

Lake Hughes: 146

Saugus/Canyon Country: 89

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 87

Sand Canyon: 48

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 34

Placerita Canyon: 15

*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.

California Friday

Statewide COVID-19 Data

Cases, hospitalizations and deaths are largely occurring among unvaccinated populations. See the data for unvaccinated and vaccinated cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

Vaccinations

– 72,589,987 total vaccines administered.

– 83.8% of the eligible population (5+) has been vaccinated with at least one dose.

– 26,947 people a day are receiving COVID-19 vaccination (average daily dose count over 7 days).

Cases

– California has 8,476,399 confirmed cases to date.

– Today’s average case count is 2,085 (average daily case count over 7 days).

– Unvaccinated people are 4.4 times more likely to get COVID-19 than boosted individuals (Feb. 28, 2022 – March 6, 2022).

Testing

– The testing positivity rate is 1.4% (average rate over 7 days).

Hospitalizations

– There are 1,648 hospitalizations statewide.

– There are 290 ICU patients statewide.

– Unvaccinated people are 8.5 times more likely to be hospitalized than boosted individuals (Feb. 28, 2022 – March 6, 2022).

Deaths

– There have been 87,809 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

– COVID-19 claims the lives of 60 Californians each day (average daily death count over 7 days).

– Unvaccinated people are 13.8 times more likely to die than boosted individuals (Feb. 21, 2022 – Feb. 27, 2022).

Health Care Workers

Note: As of March 24, local health departments have reported 153,387 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 576 deaths statewide.

Testing Turnaround Time

The testing turnaround time dashboard reports how long California patients are waiting for COVID-19 test results. During the week of March 13 to March 19, the average time patients waited for test results was 0.8 days. During this same time period, 91% of patients received test results in one day and 97% received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

As of March 21, there have been 907 cases of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) reported statewide. 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.

Additional Updates

Mask Guidance: Under California’s mask guidance, universal masking is required only in specified higher risk settings like hospitals, public transit and congregate living facilities. Unvaccinated persons are required to mask in all indoor public settings. Fully vaccinated individuals are recommended to continue indoor masking when the risk may be high. Workplaces will continue to follow the COVID-19 prevention standards set by CalOSHA. Local health jurisdictions may implement requirements that are stricter than state guidance.

Slow the Spread: Get Vaccinated and Boosted for COVID-19

The risk for COVID-19 exposure and infection continues as a number of Californians remain unvaccinated and unboosted.

Real-world evidence continues to show that the vaccine is preventing severe illness, hospitalization, and death. Public health officials urge Californians to get vaccinated and boosted as soon as possible.

It is recommended that every vaccinated person 12 years or older should get a booster as long as they received their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine at least five months ago or they received their Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least two months ago.

Vaccination appointments can be made by visiting myturn.ca.gov or calling 1-833-422-4255. The consent of a parent or legal guardian may be needed for those under age 18 to receive a vaccination. Visit Vaccinate All 58 to learn more about the safe and effective vaccines available for all Californians 5+.

Your Actions Save Lives

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

Keep California Healthy
Protect yourself, family, friends and your community by following these prevention measures:

– Get vaccinated when it’s your turn. Californians age 16+ are eligible to make an appointment.

– If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 (fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle or body aches), call your health care provider.

– If you believe you have been exposed, get tested. Free, confidential testing is available statewide.

– Keep gatherings small and outdoors and follow state and local public health guidance.

– Wear a mask and get the most out of masking – an effective mask has both good fit and good filtration.

– Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

– Delay non-essential travel outside of California until you are fully vaccinated. Follow California’s travel advisory.

– Avoid close contact with people who are sick and stay home from work and school if you feel ill.

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

– Answer the call or text if a contact tracer from the CA COVID Team or your local health department tries to connect.

Additional data and udpates:

Tracking COVID-19 in California

State Dashboard – Daily COVID-19 data

County Map – Local data, including tier status and ICU capacity

Data and Tools – Models and dashboards for researchers, scientists, and the public

Blueprint for a Safer Economy– Data for establishing tier status

COVID-19 Race & Ethnicity Data – Weekly updated Race & Ethnicity data

Cases and Deaths by Age Group – Weekly updated Deaths by Age Group data

Health Equity Dashboard – See how COVID-19 highlights existing inequities in health

Tracking Variants – Data on the variants California is currently monitoring

Safe Schools for All Hub – Information about safe in-person instruction

School Districts Reopening Map – data on public schools and reported outbreaks

Always check with trusted sources for the latest accurate information about novel coronavirus:

– Los Angeles County Department of Public Health

– California Department of Public Health

– Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

– Spanish

– World Health Organization

L.A. County residents can also call 2-1-1.

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.

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.