The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed 10 new deaths throughout L.A. County and 3,180 new cases countywide.

Note: Los Angeles County reported 7,738 new cases in Castaic Thursday. However, on Friday L.A. County reports 7,364 cases – 374 less than Thursday’s count.

This new data brings Los Angeles County death totals to 32,074, county case totals to 2,929,950 and Santa Clarita Valley case totals to 75,315, with 470 total SCV deaths from COVID-19 since March of 2020.

There are 401 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 11,957,743 individuals, with 22% of people testing positive.

Of the 10 new deaths reported today, one was between the ages of 50-64, one was between the ages of 65-79, and seven were aged 80 years or older. Of the 10 newly reported deaths, six had underlying health conditions. One death was reported by the City of Long Beach.

Today’s positivity rate is 3.7%.

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

Increases in Worksite Outbreaks and Positive Cases

As case and test positivity rates and hospitalizations increase in L.A. County, masking will continue to be required in all public transit and indoor transportation hubs within L.A. County.

Many residents and workers require public transportation to get to their jobs, secure essential goods and services, and connect with family and friends.

Traveling on public transportation increases a person’s risk of getting and spreading COVID-19 by bringing people in close contact with others, often for prolonged periods, in poorly ventilated spaces.

To reduce this risk, the County’s Health Officer Order continues to require masks to be worn by everyone, 2 years of age and older, regardless of their COVID-19 vaccination status, on public transit and indoor transportation hubs within the county. This includes wearing masks on commuter trains, subways, buses, taxis, ride-shares, airport and bus terminals, train and subway stations, seaport or other indoor port terminals, or any other indoor area that serves as a transportation hub.

Public Health will reassess this masking requirement when either the COVID-19 community transmission level in Los Angeles County decreases to moderate (<50 weekly cases/100,000 people) or within 30 days, whichever occurs first. Worksite transmission is also increasing in Los Angeles County and employers are urged to use common sense strategies to help keep employees and customers safe. The early alert metrics continue to document increased transmission at worksites, with 227 worksite cluster reports received between May 11th through noon on May 17th. This is more than 6 times as many clusters we reported for a 7-day period one month ago. Of these worksite clusters, 42% were reported from the Retail Trade sector alone, including in Building Material, Garden Equipment and Supply Dealers, and Food and Beverage Stores. Manufacturing, the second most frequent sector represented, accounted for 17% of all worksite cluster reports received. The vaccines continue to offer strong protection against the virus, and vaccination partners may be able to provide vaccination services for your workplace, organization, or special event. These mobile units offer vaccines and boosters to employees and customers and can be arranged by filling out this form or finding a provider at Vaccine Finder and contacting them directly.

Employers are required to provide all employees at indoor worksites, where masking is optional, with medical grade masks and respirators for voluntary use.

In order to reduce transmission at worksites, employers are required to report any cluster of worksite COVID-19 cases to the Department of Public Health. A cluster is three or more laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 at the worksite within a 14-day period. Reports to Public Health should be made as soon as possible and no later than 48 hours after reports or knowledge of at least three cases. Worksites can report a cluster to Public Health online or by phone: 1-888-397-3993. If Public Health determines that there is an outbreak at a worksite, employees are required to mask both indoors and, if they can’t be socially distanced, outdoors as well.

Residents or workers who are a close contact to someone with COVID-19 and have no symptoms are not required to quarantine but must wear a highly protective mask around others, monitor their health for 10 days and get tested 3-5 days after they were last exposed. If they test positive for COVID-19 within the last 90 days, they don’t need to test unless they get symptoms. If their test result is positive, they must isolate.

Some close contacts must quarantine or be excluded from work if they live or work in select high-risk settings, including emergency shelters and cooling and heating centers; homeless shelters; healthcare settings; long-term care centers; adult and senior care facilities; and local correctional facilities and detention centers.

Some close contacts in other settings may be required to be excluded from work by their employer.

Workers concerned about possible COVID-19 violations or other workplace safety concerns have several options for filing a complaint. To file a complaint with Public Health, which can be submitted anonymously, workers can call the Environmental Health Customer Call Center at (888) 700-9995 or click on “Report a Problem.” To file a complaint with Cal/OSHA about employee safety, workplace safety, or hazardous conditions, workers can call (833) 579-0927 or email the local Cal/OSHA Enforcement Office that serves the location of the job site.

“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. “As we move into the CDC’s Medium Community Level and see elevated levels of concern among our early alert signals, the task in front of us is similar to work we had to do at other points over the past 2½ years: slowing transmission. We know what works- masking, testing, and vaccination, along with systems and policies that support the use of these and other effective safety measures. If each of us takes advantage of the good access to these effective resources, I am hopeful that we can slow transmission again, prevent strain on our healthcare system and protect each other.”

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 5 p.m. Friday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard remains unchanged, with 470 total deaths from COVID-19 in the Santa Clarita Valley.

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

Santa Clarita: 384

Castaic: 28 (revised from 30)

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 75,315 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

Santa Clarita: 55,355

Castaic: 7,364

Stevenson Ranch: 4,250

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 2,682

Acton: 1,542

Val Verde: 867

Agua Dulce: 790

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 704

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 326

Elizabeth Lake: 209

Bouquet Canyon: 149

Lake Hughes: 150

Saugus/Canyon Country: 91

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 87

Sand Canyon: 49

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 36

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

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, May 20.

Vaccinations

– 75,709,724 total vaccines administered.

– 84.1% of the eligible population (5+) has been vaccinated with at least one dose.

– 49,300 people a day are receiving COVID-19 vaccination (average daily dose count over 7 days).

Cases

– California has 8,797,890 confirmed cases to date.

– Friday’s average case count is 9,328 (average daily case count over 7 days).

– Unvaccinated people are 4.9 times more likely to get COVID-19 than boosted individuals (April 25, 2022 – May 1, 2022).

Testing

– The testing positivity rate is 6% (average rate over 7 days).

Hospitalizations

– There are 1,708 hospitalizations statewide.

– There are 208 ICU patients statewide.

– Unvaccinated people are 7.4 times more likely to be hospitalized than boosted individuals (April 25, 2022 – May 1, 2022).

Deaths

– There have been 90,382 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

– COVID-19 claims the lives of 9 Californians each day (average daily death count over 7 days).

– Unvaccinated people are 9.1 times more likely to die than boosted individuals (April 18, 2022 – April 24, 2022).

Health Care Workers

As of May 19, local health departments have reported 159,306 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 579 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 May 8 to May 14, the average time patients waited for test results was 0.8 day. During this same time period, 90% of patients received test results in one day and 98% received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

As of May 19, 2022, there have been 980 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.