Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital reported three additional deaths from COVID-19 Friday, bringing the total number to 214 since the onset of the pandemic, spokesman Patrick Moody confirmed.

Currently, the hospital has one test pending, 43 patients in the hospital, and a total of 2,085 patients who have been treated and discharged since the pandemic began.

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.

On Friday the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed 85 additional deaths and 15,427 new cases countywide. The total number of cases reflects almost 6,800 additional cases due to reporting delays from a single lab. There have been 69,858 total cases to date in the Santa Clarita Valley.

With high COVID-19 vaccination and booster rates, skilled nursing facility residents experienced a peak death rate that was more than five times lower this surge as compared to the previous winter’s surge.

The latest Public Health data shows that the seven-day average death rate of skilled nursing facility (SNF) residents dramatically declined from 106 residents per 100,000 during the peak of the 2020-21 winter surge to 21 residents per 100,000 during the more recent Omicron peak. The 80% reduction in the peak death rate among SNF residents is even more striking when considering that the peak seven-day average of new infections caused by the highly transmissible Omicron variant this surge was 15% higher than the peak infection rate during the previous winter surge.

High levels of vaccination and booster coverage within skilled nursing facilities helped provide life-saving protection. For the week ending Jan. 23, 91% of residents and 97% of staff were reported as fully vaccinated, and 85% of residents and 75% of staff were reported as both fully vaccinated and boosted among those eligible. Since the announcement of the healthcare worker booster requirement in late December, the number of SNF staff boosted has increased by almost 50%. This essential layer of better coverage and protection with a booster dose has resulted in far better outcomes this surge as compared to the previous winter.

Moreover, newly released CDC data yesterday showed that individuals who were both fully vaccinated and boosted had a 97 times lower death rate (0.1 individuals per 100,000) compared to individuals who were unvaccinated (9.7 individuals per 100,000).

“I send my deepest sympathies and wishes for peace and comfort to the many families who have lost a loved one due to COVID-19,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “We remain hopeful that we will continue to see fewer people at skilled nursing facilities dying from COVID-19 in the upcoming weeks.

“However, if we want to continue to bring our cases, hospitalizations and deaths closer to pre-surge levels, we’ll need to continue the common-sense protective measures that we know can slow COVID-19 transmission,” Ferrer continued. “These include wearing a mask when around others until transmission is lower; testing, if possible, before gathering with others, especially if you’re gathering with people at high risk (including unvaccinated) or indoors or in a crowded outdoor place where masks are not always worn, and after being exposed to a positive case; staying home and away from others if you are sick or test positive; and getting vaccinated and boosted if you’re not already up to date.”

Of the 85 new deaths reported today, one person was between the ages of 18-29, two people were between the ages of 30-49, 17 were between the ages of 50-64, 27 were between the ages of 65-79, and 31 were age 80 years or older. Of the 85 newly reported deaths, 67 had underlying health conditions. Information on the six deaths reported by the City of Long Beach is available at www.LongBeach.gov. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 29,280.

Public Health has reported a total of 2,710,362 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Today’s positivity rate is 6.9%.

There are 3,233 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 11,148,900 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

Santa Clarita Valley Friday Update
As of 6 p.m. Friday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard reports one additional death from COVID-19 in the city of Santa Clarita, bringing the total number of COVID-19 deaths to date in the SCV to 404.

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

Santa Clarita: 328

Castaic: 27

Acton: 15

Unincorporated Canyon Country: 10

Stevenson Ranch: 9

Agua Dulce: 5

Val Verde: 3

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 69,858 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

Santa Clarita: 51,923

Castaic: 6,912

Stevenson Ranch: 3,846

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 2,475

Acton: 1,447

Val Verde: 805

Agua Dulce: 762

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 647

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 302

Elizabeth Lake: 192

Bouquet Canyon: 146

Lake Hughes: 136

Saugus/Canyon Country: 87

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 84

Sand Canyon: 46

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 33

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

– 69,934,848 total vaccines administered.

– 82.2% of the eligible population (5+) has been vaccinated with at least one dose.

– 104,556 people a day are receiving COVID-19 vaccination (average daily dose count over 7 days).

Cases

– California has 8,006,410 confirmed cases to date.

– Friday’s average case count is 57,895 (average daily case count over 7 days).

– Unvaccinated people are 7.5 times more likely to get COVID-19 than boosted individuals (Jan. 10, 2022 – Jan.16, 2022).

Testing

– The testing positivity rate is 12.7% (average rate over 7 days).

Hospitalizations

– There are 12,134 hospitalizations statewide.

– There are 2,283 ICU patients statewide.

– Unvaccinated people are 14.9 times more likely to be hospitalized than boosted individuals (Jan. 10, 2022 – Jan. 16,2022).

Deaths

– There have been 80,022 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

– COVID-19 claims the lives of 104 Californians each day (average daily death count over 7 days).

– Unvaccinated people are 30.0 times more likely to die than boosted individuals (Jan. 1, 2022 – Jan. 9, 2022).

Health Care Workers

Note: As of Feb. 3, local health departments have reported 144,086 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 552 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 Jan. 23 to Jan. 29, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.4 days. During this same time period, 71% of patients received test results in one day and 88% received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

As of Jan. 31, there have been 803 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.

COVID-19 Wastewater Surveillance

CDPH and the California State Water Resources Control Board are coordinating with several wastewater utilities, local health departments, universities and laboratories in California to monitor wastewater surveillance for the virus causing COVID-19. An explanation of wastewater surveillance, list of participating sites and related resources can be found on this webpage.

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 updates:

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.