The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Thursday 48 additional deaths and 1,297 new cases of COVID-19 countywide, with 16 new cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

This new data brings Los Angeles County death totals to 31,225, county case totals to 2,810,308 and Santa Clarita Valley case totals to 71,923 since March of 2020.

Revised L.A. County TK-12 School Guidance
With the state issuing the new guidance on TK-12 schools, the layering of safety protections is critical to protect vulnerable children, teachers, and staff at schools. Starting tomorrow, March 12, indoor masking at schools will no longer be required. However, the state and the county are strongly recommending indoor masking for students, teachers, and staff, regardless of vaccination status, until transmission is lower.

School districts in L.A. County can continue to require masking at schools and during school activities, along with other appropriate safety protections, for their school community. At campuses where masking becomes optional, Public Health encourages that information about the importance of masking is shared with all members of the school community, and that schools support all teachers, staff, and students who want to keep wearing a mask.

The county is also aligning with the state in revising isolation and quarantine requirements for TK-12 schools. Schools must continue to require COVID-19 cases to isolate and a negative test will be required to exit isolation after day five. Masking and testing for asymptomatic students remaining at schools during their quarantine period are strongly recommended.

The revised L.A. County TK-12 school guidance will be posted on the Public Health website later today.

Vaccines Urged for Eligible Children
Public Health also urges parents to fully vaccinate their eligible children, as the vaccines offer the strongest protection against the virus. As of March 6, 35% of children 5-11 years old and 85% of children 12–17-year-olds have received one dose of the vaccine and 29% of 5–11-year-olds and 77% of 12–17-year-olds are fully vaccinated.

Public Health data shows that unvaccinated children ages 5-11 were two times more likely to be infected when compared to those who were fully vaccinated. For those ages 12-17, unvaccinated teens were two and a half times more likely to be infected and five times more likely to be hospitalized when compared to those who were fully vaccinated.

To make it easier for children to get vaccinated, Public Health is working to make vaccines widely available at many school sites. For the month of March, 921 school vaccination sites are scheduled with 89% located in hard-hit community areas, including South Los Angeles, including Compton and Inglewood, Southeast Los Angeles County including Bell, Cudahy, Hawaiian Gardens, South Gate, Huntington Park and Lakewood, the San Fernando Valley including Reseda, North Hills, Panorama City, Canoga Park, Pacoima and Sylmar and areas in the Antelope Valley.

Local schools are continuing to see a decline in the number of positive tests and test positivity for their students and staff. Between Feb. 28 and March 4, over 470,000 tests were administered at K-12 schools across the county with 1,381 positive tests, resulting in a test positivity of 0.3%. There were five new school-associated outbreaks with two outbreaks in elementary schools, two in middle schools and one in youth sports between Feb. 27 and March 5.

“I send my heartfelt condolences and wishes of healing to the countless people who have lost a loved one to this pandemic,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Although the county is now post-surge, Public Health cautions that community transmission is substantial and poses a risk for many individuals, including numerous people working at or attending schools. Having children and staff fully vaccinated creates a powerful layer of protection and continuing masking while transmission is substantial adds another level of safety for both children and staff in schools. When combined with additional safety precautions, including infection control and testing, schools can continue to offer safe environments for children, staff and their families.”

Today, Public Health confirmed 48 additional deaths, and 1,297 new positive cases. Of the 48 new deaths reported today, five people were between the ages of 30-49, eight were between the ages of 50-64, 16 were between the ages of 65-79, and 13 were aged 80 years or older. Of the 48 newly reported deaths, 36 had underlying health conditions. Information on the three deaths reported by the city of Long Beach and the three deaths reported by the city of Pasadena is available at www.LongBeach.gov and www.CityofPasadena.gov. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 31,225.

Public Health has reported a total of 2,810,308 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Today’s positivity rate is .9%.

There are 588 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 11,526,900 individuals, with 22% 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).

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 2,205 patients who have been treated and discharged since the pandemic began, with no additional deaths, spokesman Patrick Moody confirmed Friday.

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 5:15 p.m. Thursday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard reported one new death in the city of Santa Clarita and one new death in Val Verde, bringing the total number in the SCV to 450.

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

Santa Clarita: 366

Castaic: 28

Acton: 17

Unincorporated Canyon Country: 9 (revised from 10)

Stevenson Ranch: 14

Agua Dulce: 5

Val Verde: 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 71,923 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

Santa Clarita: 53,460

Castaic: 7,060

Stevenson Ranch: 3,977

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 2,572

Acton: 1,505

Val Verde: 827

Agua Dulce: 778

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 665

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 309

Elizabeth Lake: 203

Bouquet Canyon: 148

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

– 72,110,744 total vaccines administered.

– 83.5% of the eligible population (5+) has been vaccinated with at least one dose.

– 34,248 people a day are receiving COVID-19 vaccination (average daily dose count over 7 days).

Cases

– California has 8,426,700 confirmed cases to date.

– Thursday’s average case count is 3,925 (average daily case count over 7 days).

– Unvaccinated people are 5.4 times more likely to get COVID-19 than boosted individuals (Feb. 14, 2022 – Feb. 20, 2022).

Testing

– The testing positivity rate is 2.0% (average rate over 7 days).

Hospitalizations

– There are 2,638 hospitalizations statewide.

– There are 490 ICU patients statewide.

– Unvaccinated people are 8.9 times more likely to be hospitalized than boosted individuals (Feb. 14, 2022 – Feb. 20, 2022).

Deaths

– There have been 86,387 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

– COVID-19 claims the lives of 122 Californians each day (average daily death count over 7 days).

– Unvaccinated people are 16.6 times more likely to die than boosted individuals (Feb. 7, 2022 – Feb. 13, 2022).

Health Care Workers

Note: As of March 10, local health departments have reported 150,492 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 569 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 Feb. 27 to March 5, the average time patients waited for test results was one day. During this same time period, 90% 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 7, there have been 889 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.