Los Angeles County Department of Public Health officials confirmed Friday 28 new deaths and 43,712 new cases of COVID-19 countywide, with 50,586 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

As cases continue to surge, L.A. County today recorded over 43,000 cases, setting a record for one day. This follows yesterday’s record number of over 37,000 cases, which was the previous record for highest daily case counts.

Healthcare Workforce Shortages
As Public Health continues to respond to this latest surge, the county’s health system is experiencing significant healthcare workforce shortages due to high rates of COVID transmission. As of January 6, there are an additional 973 newly reported cases since the previous report ending on December 30; this is an increase of over 47 percent since the prior reporting period. In total, there have been 50,353 healthcare workers and first responders confirmed with COVID-19 in Los Angeles County.

As of January 6, skilled nursing facilities and hospitals reported the highest share staff cases among health care setting sites. Among occupations, nursing staff accounted for 27% of new cases. Public Health is also reporting that among all healthcare workers, over one-third (39%) reported being exposed to a known case within their facility, either a patient and/or co-worker.

Given the powerful protection offered by booster doses, LA County revised its Health Officer Order to align with the State of California Health Officer Order requiring booster doses for all healthcare workers. The revised order required booster-eligible workers in healthcare settings be boosted by February 1, 2022, or be tested for COVID-19 twice a week (if in acute health care or long-term care settings).

“I know so many are mourning the loss of a loved one and send my heartfelt condolences and wishes for healing,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Keeping healthcare workers safe is critical to maintaining functionality across our healthcare facilities when surges lead to staffing shortages and rising rates of hospitalizations. Across multiple healthcare settings, our health care personnel have given their all and been fully vaccinated at high levels for many months,” Ferrer continued. “Every resident can also do their part to protect our healthcare personnel and hospitals. Please get vaccinated or boosted as soon as possible if eligible. Vaccinated individuals are between ten and thirty times less likely to need hospital care than those unvaccinated. We ask that you do not go to the emergency room unless you need care for a serious medical concern and please do not call 911 unless you have a life-threatening emergency.”

New Deaths in LA County
Of the 28 new deaths reported today, three people were between the ages of 30 and 49, four were between the ages of 50-64, 15 were between the ages of 65-79, and four were over the age of 80 years old. Of the 28 newly reported deaths, 24 had underlying conditions.

To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 27,756. Information on the two deaths reported by the city of Long Beach is available at www.LongBeach.gov

Public Health has identified a total of 1,887,526 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Today’s positivity rate is 20.9 percent.

There are 2,902 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 10,235,300 individuals, with 17 percent of people testing positive.

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

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

– Stay home if you are sick and adhere to isolation and quarantine requirements if you are infected with COVID or a close contact with an infected person

Residents are legally required to isolate if they have a positive COVID test result and vaccinated close contacts with symptoms and unvaccinated close contacts need to quarantine.

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

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 one test pending, 57 patients in the hospital, a total of 1,766 patients who have been treated and discharged since the pandemic began, and no additional deceased, confirmed spokesman Patrick Moody.

“We strongly encourage everyone to follow CDC guidelines to protect themselves and those around them,” Moody said.

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 remains unchanged with a total number of 376 COVID-19 deaths to date in the Santa Clarita Valley.

The following is the community breakdown of the 376 SCV residents who have died, according to the L.A. County dashboard:

310 in Santa Clarita

23 in Castaic

13 in Acton

9 in Stevenson Ranch

7 in unincorporated Canyon Country

5 in Agua Dulce

3 in Val Verde

2 in Valencia

1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon

1 in Elizabeth Lake

1 in Newhall

1 in unincorporated Saugus/Canyon Country

0 in Lake Hughes (**revised from 1)

SCV Cases

Of the 50,586 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

Santa Clarita: 37,387

Castaic: 5,481

Stevenson Ranch: 2,684

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 1,708

Acton: 1,019

Val Verde: 559

Agua Dulce: 537

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 450

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 224

Elizabeth Lake: 146

Bouquet Canyon: 99

Lake Hughes: 91

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 73

Saugus/Canyon Country: 62

Sand Canyon: 32

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 27

Placerita Canyon: 7

*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 Thursday

California did not released a new COVID-19 update as of press time on Friday.

The most up to date data is available on the state’s COVID-19 data dashboard.

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

– 65,613,968 total vaccines administered.

– 79.8% of the eligible population (5+) has been vaccinated with at least one dose.

– 142,439 people a day are receiving COVID-19 vaccination (average daily dose count over 7 days).

Cases

– California has 5,530,751 confirmed cases to date.

– Thursday’s average case count is 36,282 (average daily case count over 7 days).

Testing

– The testing positivity rate is 21.4% (average rate over 7 days).

Hospitalizations
(*Note: As of January 5, 2022, hospitalized and ICU patients only reflect confirmed COVID-19 cases).

– There are 8,671* hospitalizations statewide.

– There are 1,430* ICU patients statewide.

– Unvaccinated people were 10.1 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 (data from Dec. 13, 2021 to Dec. 19, 2021).

Deaths

– There have been 76,049 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

– COVID-19 claims the lives of 44 Californians each day (average daily death count over 7 days).

– Unvaccinated people were 16.6 times more likely to die from COVID-19 (data from Dec. 6, 2021 to Dec. 12, 2021).

Testing Turnaround Time

The testing turnaround time dashboard reports how long California patients are waiting for COVID-19 test results. During the week of December 19 to December 25, the average time patients waited for test results was one day. During this same time period, 78% of patients received test results in one day and 95% received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

As of Jan. 3, there have been 779 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.