The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed 18 new deaths throughout L.A. County, 6,416 new cases countywide and 221 new cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

This new data brings Los Angeles County death totals to 32,413, county case totals to 3,160,032 and Santa Clarita Valley case totals to 82,744, with 480 total SCV deaths from COVID-19 since March of 2020.

There are 1,021 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 12,217,954 individuals, with 23% of people testing positive.

Of the 18 new deaths reported today, one person was between the ages of 18-29, four people were between the ages of 30-49, two people were between the ages of 50-64, four people were between the ages of 65-79 and seven people were aged 80 years or older. Of the 18 newly reported deaths, 16 had underlying health conditions.

Today’s positivity rate is 15.7%.

Data is by date reported by DPH, but does not necessarily represent the date of testing, hospitalization, or death.

Daily Hospitalizations Reach Highest Number Since Late February

Los Angeles County community level metrics continue to increase. As a result of high levels of community transmission over the past month, more residents are experiencing severe illness and death. The number of COVID-positive hospitalized patients today, at 1,021, is the highest number of hospitalized patients since Feb. 26 and the number of daily deaths today, at 18, is the highest number of deaths since March 30.

While L.A. County remains at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designated Medium COVID-19 Community Level, our hospital admission rate, now at 8.4%, has increased 62% since last month.

Assuming a similar rate of increase in hospital admissions as what was observed the past two weeks, L.A. County’s hospital admission rate could reach or surpass the 10 admissions per 100,000 people per week threshold that would move the county into High in the CDC COVID-19 Community Levels framework by late next week.

As a reminder, Public Health cannot predict with certainty what the future hospitalization trend will look like; however, it is looking more likely as cases and admissions continue to increase, that the county will enter the high community level designation later this month. Should the county remain in this high level designation for two consecutive weeks, universal indoor masking, in alignment with the CDC, would be implemented across the county.

Since hospital metrics measure the impact of COVID transmission a few weeks after it occurs, Public Health continues to track other metrics that can provide earlier indications of increasing risk, both in the community, and in specific sectors of the county. Currently, six of the seven county Early Alert Signals continue to convey cause for Medium or High Concern.

This week, Public Health is using its Early Alert Signal to track the new subvariants BA.4 and BA.5. Currently BA.4 and BA.5 combined account for nearly 40% of the specimens sequenced, signaling High concern.

The proportion of Emergency Department cases that have involved people seeking care for COVID has been steadily increasing, and remains at elevated concern. For the seven-day period ending July 3, 8.4% of ED encounters were classified as COVID-related, significantly higher than the 6% seen at the end of May.

The number of outbreaks per week in Skilled Nursing Facilities also continues to remain in a level of High Concern, though there was a slight decrease, reflecting progress in controlling outbreaks. There were 25 new outbreaks during the seven days ending July 5, a decrease from the 35 outbreaks seen in the week ending June 28.

“I send my deepest sympathies and wishes of peace and comfort to the many families who have lost a loved one from COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “With increasing rates of transmission associated with highly infectious subvariants that evade some of the previous acquired immunity from vaccines and previous COVID infections, we are all dealing with elevated risk. We all now face a higher risk of getting COVID because there are more people infected with the virus who can transmit to others when we gather, go shopping, or attend events. Essential workers, especially those that work directly with the public, also now have more exposures to the virus during their workday. Fortunately, we have sensible steps we all can take to reduce this increased risk without forgoing the activities we love. We can wear masks when indoors, test before gathering, and stay home and away from others if we are sick or have tested positive. To reduce stress on the health care system and prevent the worst outcomes of COVID, we can also get vaccinated and boosted, and help those around us get their vaccinations and boosters. And, for those who do get infected, immediately accessing oral medications if eligible can prevent many from developing severe illness.”

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.

Schools Community Dashboard

Student Dashboard

Staff Dashboard

Santa Clarita Valley Friday Update
As of 4 p.m. Friday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard reported no additional deaths in the city of Santa Clarita, leaving the total number of deaths from COVID-19 in the SCV at 480.

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

Santa Clarita: 391

Castaic: 31

Acton: 17

Stevenson Ranch: 15

Unincorporated Canyon Country: 9 (revised from 10)

Agua Dulce: 6

Val Verde: 3 (revised from 4)

Valencia: 2

Unincorporated Bouquet Canyon: 2

Elizabeth Lake: 1

Newhall: 1

unincorporated Saugus/Canyon Country: 1

Lake Hughes: 1

SCV Cases

Of the 82,744 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

Santa Clarita: 61,039

Castaic: 8,416

Stevenson Ranch: 4,848

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 2,996

Acton: 1,653

Val Verde: 919

Agua Dulce: 856

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 784

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 364

Elizabeth Lake: 230

Bouquet Canyon: 167

Lake Hughes: 170

Saugus/Canyon Country: 103

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 92

Sand Canyon: 52

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 38

Placerita Canyon: 17

*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

The California Department of Public Health now updates their numbers on Tuesday and Friday. The information below is from the most recent data released Friday, July 8.

Vaccinations

– 77,851,959 total vaccines administered.

– 79.4% of the eligible population (5+) has been vaccinated with at least one dose.

– 28,044 people a day are receiving COVID-19 vaccination (average daily dose count over 7 days).

Cases

– California has 9,540,194 confirmed cases to date.

– Friday’s average case count is 16,557 (average daily case count over 7 days).

– Unvaccinated people are 5.3 times more likely to get COVID-19 than boosted individuals (June 13, 2022 – June 19, 2022).

Testing

– The testing positivity rate is 16.7% (average rate over 7 days).

Hospitalizations

– There are 4,009 hospitalizations statewide.

– There are 445 ICU patients statewide.

– Unvaccinated people are 6.6 times more likely to be hospitalized than boosted individuals (June 13, 2022 – June 19, 2022).

Deaths

– There have been 91,930 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

– COVID-19 claims the lives of 21 Californians each day (average daily death count over 7 days).

– Unvaccinated people are 7.2 times more likely to die than boosted individuals (June 6, 2022 – June 12, 2022).

Health Care Workers

As of July 7, local health departments have reported 169,572 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 582 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 June 26 to July 2, the average time patients waited for test results was 0.9 day. During this same time period, 86% of patients received test results in one day and 97% received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

As of July 7, there have been 1005 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 individual six months of age and older receive their primary COVID-19 vaccine series and booster dose.

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.