The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Friday 65 additional deaths and 43,091 new cases of COVID-19 countywide, with 63,320 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

With Omicron continuing to drive case counts, hospitalizations and deaths to levels not seen since last year, Public Health is reminding residents that vaccines are still the best source of protection, especially against hospitalization and death.

From Jan. 2 through Jan. 8, unvaccinated people were twice as likely to contract the virus compared to those fully vaccinated without boosters. Residents who were vaccinated and boosted were even more protected with four times the protection from infection compared to those unvaccinated.

Additionally, vaccinated and boosted residents are also at significantly less risk of ending up in the hospital. When comparing unvaccinated residents to those fully vaccinated without boosters, unvaccinated residents were five times more likely to be hospitalized. Residents who were both vaccinated and boosted had even higher levels of protection and were 20 times less likely to be hospitalized compared to those unvaccinated.

As cases and hospitalizations remain high, of most concern is the increase in deaths. On Thursday, Public Health reported 102 new deaths, the highest daily number of deaths since March 2021. And for the seven days leading up to Jan. 1, Public Health data also showed that unvaccinated individuals were 23 times more likely to succumb and die from COVID compared to those fully vaccinated.

“I send my heartfelt condolences to those families who have lost a loved one due to COVID-19,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have recognized that while many experience mild illness from COVID, there are others that will not do well if they become infected. Preliminary estimates from scientists at USC estimated that if everyone eligible was vaccinated, over the last 6 weeks there would have been 85 percent fewer cases with nearly 604,000 cases of COVID prevented, and 87 percent fewer hospitalizations with approximately 9,300 hospitalizations prevented. These estimates align with much of the data we share weekly about the disastrous consequences facing many infected, unvaccinated individuals. Large scale vaccine adoption could change the pandemic’s trajectory with significant case and hospitalization reductions.”

Today, Public Health confirmed 65 additional deaths and 43,091 new cases of COVID-19. Of the 65 new deaths reported today, 10 were between the ages of 30 and 49, 16 were between the ages of 50 and 64, 15 were between the ages of 65-79, and 18 were over the age of 80 years old. Of the 65 newly reported deaths, 44 had underlying conditions. Information on the six deaths reported by the City of Long Beach is available at www.LongBeach.gov. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 28,346.

Public Health has identified a total 2,428,744 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Today’s positivity rate is 17.8 percent.

There are 4,792 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 10,804,700 individuals, with 20 percent of people testing positive.

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).

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital reported Friday zero tests pending, 91 patients in the hospital, and a total of 1,921 patients who have been treated and discharged since the pandemic began, and one additional deceased, bringing the total deaths at Henry Mayo to 202, spokesman Patrick Moody confirmed.

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.

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

Santa Clarita Valley Friday Update
As of 5 p.m. Friday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard reported one additional death in Castaic and one additional death in unincorporated Canyon Country, bringing the total of COVID-19 deaths since the onset of the pandemic to 387.

The following is the community breakdown of the 385 SCV residents who have died, according to the L.A. County dashboard:

Santa Clarita: 316

Castaic: 25

Acton: 14

Stevenson Ranch: 9

Unincorporated Canyon Country: 9

Agua Dulce: 5

Val Verde: 3

Valencia: 2

Unincorporated Bouquet Canyon: 1

Elizabeth Lake: 1

Newhall: 1

unincorporated Saugus/Canyon Country: 1

Lake Hughes: 0 (**revised from 1)

SCV Cases

Of the 63,320 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

Santa Clarita: 47,078

Castaic: 6,399

Stevenson Ranch: 3,444

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 2,216

Acton: 1,262

Val Verde: 720

Agua Dulce: 674

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 586

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 282

Elizabeth Lake: 174

Bouquet Canyon: 131

Lake Hughes: 121

Saugus/Canyon Country: 79

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 74

Sand Canyon: 37

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 31

Placerita Canyon: 12

*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

– 68,244,807 total vaccines administered.

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

– 147,684 people a day are receiving COVID-19 vaccination (average daily dose count over 7 days).

Cases

– California has 7,123,571 confirmed cases to date.

– Thursday’s average case count is 106,968 (average daily case count over 7 days).

Testing

– The testing positivity rate is 21.2 percent (average rate over 7 days).

Hospitalizations

– There are 15,383 hospitalizations statewide.

– There are 2,485 ICU patients statewide.

– Unvaccinated people were 6.0 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 (data from December 27, 2021 to January 2, 2022).

Deaths

– There have been 77,722 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

– COVID-19 claims the lives of 45 Californians each day (average daily death count over 7 days).

– Unvaccinated people were 17.8 times more likely to die from COVID-19 (data from Dec. 20, 2021 to Dec. 26, 2021).

Health Care Workers

As of Jan. 20, local health departments have reported 140,802 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 545 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 Jan. 9 to Jan. 15, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.9 days. During this same time period, 51 percent of patients received test results in one day and 68 percent received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

As of Jan. 17, there have been 783 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.

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.