Los Angeles County Department of Public Health officials confirmed Friday 12 additional deaths and 27,091 new cases of COVID-19 countywide, with 44,129 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

With cases almost doubling in two days, and just about one out of every four people testing positive, Public Health urges everyone to minimize the risk of transmitting the virus by not hosting or attending large gatherings over this upcoming holiday weekend.

Indoor parties, in particular, create significant risk as this virus can be spread through aerosolized droplets. Older individuals, those with underlying health conditions, and those who are immunocompromised should take additional precautions by not attending indoor gatherings with non-household members during this surge.

Evidence suggests that only those who have recently completed their vaccination series or are boosted have significant protection from becoming infected with the highly contagious Omicron variant. This leaves millions of people across L.A. County vulnerable to COVID infection, explained Public Health officials.

Public Health released the latest data on COVID-19:

– 1,696,582 cases to date

– 27,637 deaths to date

– 1,365 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19

– More than 10,043,000 individuals tested; 15% of people tested positive to date

Data is by date reported by DPH, but does not necessarily represent the date of testing, hospitalization, or death.
1 – Number reflects an undercount due to a lag from holiday or weekend reporting.
2 – Numbers do not include Long Beach and Pasadena.

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 including:

– COVID-19 Daily Data (cases, deaths, testing, testing positivity rate, mortality rate, and hospitalizations)

– Gender, Age, Race/Ethnicity and City/Community Cases and Deaths

– Recovery Metrics

– Contract Tracing Metrics

– Skilled Nursing Facility Metrics

– Citations due to Health Officer Order Noncompliance

Outbreaks:

– Residential Congregate Sessions

– Non-Residential Settings

– Homeless Service Settings

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital Update

On Friday, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital reported zero tests pending, 34 patients in the hospital, a total of 1,728 patients who have been treated and discharged since the pandemic began and no new deaths 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 5:00 p.m. Friday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard reported a total 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 44,129 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 32,483

* Castaic: 4,998

Stevenson Ranch: 2,262

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 1,442

Acton: 918

Val Verde: 488

Agua Dulce: 480

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 372

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 199

Elizabeth Lake: 133

Bouquet Canyon: 93

Lake Hughes: 80

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 70

Saugus/Canyon Country: 55

Sand Canyon: 26

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 25

Placerita Canyon: 5

*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.

Los Angeles County

“The days ahead will be extraordinarily challenging for all us as we face extraordinarily high case numbers reflecting widespread transmission of the virus. In order to make sure that people are able to work and attend school, we all need to act responsibly,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “With explosive transmission likely to continue for some weeks to come, all efforts now need to focus on protecting our healthcare system from becoming overwhelmed. Since most people in our hospitals with serious illness from COVID are unvaccinated, those not yet vaccinated or boosted need to please stay away from others as much as possible to avoid getting infected or infecting others. And while vaccines and boosters continue to offer excellent protection against severe illness and death, those most vulnerable to serious consequences should they become infected (including children under 5 not yet able to get vaccinated) need to be surrounded by additional layers of protection. This includes wearing tight fitting and high-quality masks when around others and limiting non-essential activities.”

California Friday Update

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released the most recent statistics Friday on COVID-19 and updates on the state’s pandemic response.

Cases, hospitalizations and deaths are largely occurring among unvaccinated populations. See the data for unvaccinated and vaccinated cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

– Unvaccinated people were 5.2 times more likely to get COVID-19 (data from Dec. 13, 2021 to Dec. 19, 2021).

– Unvaccinated people were 14.5 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 (data from Dec. 6, 2021 to Dec. 12, 2021).

– Unvaccinated people were 15.0 times more likely to die from COVID-19 (data from Nov. 29, 2021 to Dec.5, 2021).

Vaccinations

– 64,792,572 total vaccines administered.

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

– 139,863 people a day are receiving COVID-19 vaccination (average daily dose count over 7 days).

Cases

– California has 5,191,438 confirmed cases to date.

– Friday’s average case count is 15,806 (average daily case count over 7 days).

Testing

– The testing positivity rate is 15.9% (average rate over 7 days).

Hospitalizations

– There are 5,835 hospitalizations statewide.

– There are 1,158 ICU patients statewide.

Deaths

– There have been 75,847 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).

Health Care Workers

As of Dec. 30, local health departments have reported 134,865 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 538 deaths statewide.

Updated Requirements for Mega-Events:

CDPH has released updated requirements for attending mega-events such as concerts and sporting events. The new guidance lowers the occupancy threshold of 10,000 attendees to 5,000 for outdoor events, and 1,000 attendees to 500 for indoor events. Venues covered by the requirement must be in full compliance no later than January 15, 2022. Prior to attending an event, attendees are required to provide either proof of vaccination, a negative antigen COVID-19 test within one day of the event, or a negative PCR test within two days of the event.

Updated Guidance: Visitation at Hospitals and Skilled Nursing Facilities:

Today, CDPH updated visitation guidance for hospitals and skilled nursing facilities. See the updated order here.

Isolation and Quarantine:

CDPH continues to monitor COVID-19 cases and take action to slow transmission in light of the fast-spreading Omicron variant. CDPH updated guidance to align with the recommended isolation and quarantine timeframes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In this time of uncertainty due to Omicron, CDPH added additional testing recommendations to exit isolation and quarantine and improved masking measures to protect the health and well-being of all Californians.

Isolation for COVID-19 Positive Individuals:

All individuals with COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status, should stay home for at least five days. Isolation can end after day five if symptoms are not present or resolving and if an antigen test collected on day five or later is negative.

Quarantine for Individuals Exposed to COVID-19:

Unvaccinated individuals who are exposed to COVID-19, and vaccinated people who are eligible for a booster but have not yet received a booster who are exposed to COVID-19, should stay home for at least five days and also get an antigen test on day five.

Vaccinated individuals who have received their booster, or are not eligible for a booster, and are exposed to COVID-19 do not have to stay home but should test on day five.

Testing Turnaround Time

The testing turnaround time dashboard reports how long California patients are waiting for COVID-19 test results. During the week of Dec. 19 to Dec. 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 Dec. 27, there have been 773 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.

Omicron Update

Overall, clinical and wastewater data indicate that Omicron cases are present in most regions of the state indicating that there is likely community transmission. Mutations consistent with Omicron variant have been detected at increasing proportions in wastewater in multiple regions throughout California where wastewater surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 is conducted. At least three health systems in California have reported approximately 50-70% of COVID-19 cases are consistent with Omicron (full sequencing results are pending). This is consistent with CDC reports of estimates of at least 70% of cases nationally. Additionally, genetic sequencing does not represent real-time data, as sequencing generally occurs several days or more after initial tests are positive for COVID-19.

The emergence of the Omicron variant emphasizes the importance of taking prevention efforts needed to protect against COVID-19, including getting a vaccine or booster. For information on Omicron and other variants, see the CDPH variant webpage and the Omicron variant fact sheet.

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.