The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed 23 new deaths throughout L.A. County, 3,006 new cases countywide and 93 new cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

This new data brings Los Angeles County death totals to 34,561, county case totals to 3,598,453 and Santa Clarita Valley case totals to 96,034 since March of 2020. SCV deaths from COVID-19 remain at 525.

Of the 23 new deaths reported today, 14 people were 80-years-old or older; six people were 65- to 79-years-old; one person was 50- to 64-years-old; and one person was 30- to 49-years-old. All of them had underlying health conditions. One death was reported by the City of Long Beach; for more information, visit longbeach.gov.

Friday’s positivity rate is NA.

There are 1,201 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 12,805,439 individuals, with 25% of people testing positive.

Layered Protections Safeguard Older People, Reduce Stress on Hospitals, Health Care Providers

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is asking residents to layer protections this holiday season to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmissions, especially for older people, and to limit additional stress on health care providers and hospitals.

On Thursday, Los Angeles County moved from the High Community Level into the Medium Community Level, after two weeks at High Community Level, based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designation. The case rate is now 177 new cases per 100,000 people.

Death rates, however, continue to climb in Los Angeles County, especially among older people.

While case numbers have decreased slightly, Public Health officials are concerned that traveling and gathering during the holidays will result in increased transmission and severe illness which would place greater stress on the county’s hospitals and health care system.

With nearly 200 cases per 100,000 people, transmission levels are still high. To help protect older people and people who are immuno-compromised or have underlying health conditions in your family, at your jobs, and in the community, Los Angeles County residents should continue to mask when indoors and follow other health measures. Having plenty of well-fitting, high-filtration masks on hand, preferably N95s, KN95s, or KF94s, will help limit transmission.

Vaccines remain the best protection against severe COVID-19 illness. Everyone eligible – which now includes children 6-months or older — should get the new bivalent vaccine. For more information, call the Department of Public Health Vaccine Call Center at 1-833-540-0473. The call center is open daily 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. To find a vaccine site, visit ph.lacounty.gov/howtogetvaccinated or contact your health care provider.

In addition to wearing masks when indoors and getting the updated booster, there is still time to get the seasonal flu vaccine, since flu season generally lasts into the Spring. When choosing activities or planning an event, it also makes sense to look for outdoor options. If it doesn’t work to be outside, open windows and doors to increase ventilation inside.

Testing for COVID before gatherings to reduce transmission remains especially important because people can transmit the COVID-19 virus without having symptoms. Go to ph.lacounty.gov/COVIDtests for more information about testing. Order free COVID tests from the federal government at COVIDtests.gov.

Finally, it’s important for people to stay home when they are sick. Anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 and has symptoms, including fever, coughing, sneezing, unusual fatigue, or muscle aches, is advised to speak to their healthcare provider about options for oral anti-viral medication. For COVID-19, antivirals should be started within 5 days of symptom onset. Anyone who does not have a provider may call the Public Health Call Center at 1-833-540-0473 to access free telehealth services.

“I offer my condolences to those who have lost someone to COVID-19 during these past few years. This is an especially difficult time of year to be without a loved one and I would like to extend my deepest sympathies,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Given that upcoming holiday gatherings and travel could lead to increased transmission, we continue to urge residents to layer in protections over the next few weeks.I have been seeing a lot more people masking indoors and more people are getting vaccinated with the bivalent booster. We take moving into Medium as a sign that these efforts to reduce COVID-19 are helping. Hopefully we can all continue to take these steps during the holidays since risk remains elevated.”

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.

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

Contact Tracing Metrics

Skilled Nursing Facility Metrics

Citations due to Health Officer Order Noncompliance

Outbreaks:

Residential Congregate Settings

Non-Residential Settings

Homeless Service Settings

Always check with trusted sources for the latest accurate information about novel coronavirus:

Los Angeles County Department of Public Health: http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/

California Department of Public Health:

https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/Immunization/nCOV2019.aspx

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

Spanish https://espanol.cdc.gov/enes/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

World Health Organization https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus

L.A. County residents can also call 2-1-1

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 4 p.m. Friday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard reported no additional deaths, leaving the total number of deaths in the SCV at 525.

NOTE: As of Dec. 20, 2022, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health switched to a new geocoding process to improve the accuracy and completeness of geocoded data. Geocoding is the process of assigning an address to specific geographic coordinates (latitude/longitude). As a result, approximately 1,500 cases (0.04%) were removed from the cumulative count as they were determined to be out of jurisdiction with the improved geocoding. The switch to this improved process also resulted in minor changes to cumulative case/death counts by Supervisor District, Service Planning Area, city/community, and area poverty categories.

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

Santa Clarita: 426

Castaic: 30 (revised from 33)

Acton: 18 (revised from 19)

Stevenson Ranch: 17

Unincorporated Canyon Country: 10

Agua Dulce: 7

Elizabeth Lake: 4

Val Verde: 6

Valencia: 2

Unincorporated Bouquet Canyon: 2

Newhall: 1

Unincorporated Saugus/Canyon Country: 1

Lake Hughes: 1

SCV Cases

Of the 96,034 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

Santa Clarita: 70,895

Castaic: 9,365

Stevenson Ranch: 5,753

Canyon Country: 3,638

Acton: 1,953

Val Verde: 1,185

Agua Dulce: 967

Valencia: 914

Saugus: 334

Elizabeth Lake: 282

Bouquet Canyon: 197

Lake Hughes: 197

Saugus/Canyon Country: 123

Newhall: 104

Sand Canyon: 59

San Francisquito: 44

Placerita Canyon: 24

*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 Thursdays. The information below is from the most recent data released Thursday, Dec. 22.

Vaccinations

– 86,729,967 total vaccines administered.

– 72.5% of the population has been vaccinated with a primary series.

– 46,258 people a day are receiving COVID-19 vaccination (average daily dose count over 7 days).

Cases

– California has 10,834,839 confirmed cases to date.

– Average case count is 7,359 (average daily case count over 7 days).

– During October 2022, unvaccinated people were 2.2 times more likely to get COVID-19 than people who were vaccinated with at least a primary series.

Testing

– The testing positivity rate is 10.6% (average rate over 7 days).

Hospitalizations

– There are 4,520 hospitalizations statewide.

– There are 522 ICU patients statewide.

– During October 2022, unvaccinated people were 2.4 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 than people who were vaccinated with at least a primary series.

Deaths

– There have been 97,428 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

– COVID-19 claims the lives of 20 Californians each day (average daily death count over 7 days).

– During October 2022, unvaccinated people were 3.1 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than people who were vaccinated with at least a primary series.

Health Care Workers

As of Dec. 21 local health departments have reported 187,054 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 598 deaths statewide.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

As of Nov. 14, there have been 1,036 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.

Updated Boosters for Children
California Health & Human Services and CDPH sent a statement on Oct. 13, 2022 on the expanded eligibility for the updated Moderna and Pfizer boosters. Eligibility for the updated Moderna booster now extends to individuals 6 years of age and older and eligibility for the updated Pfizer booster now extends to individuals 5 years of age and older. This statement follows the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation and has the support of the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup.

Changes to Definition of Close Contact
CDPH is revising the definition of close contact related to COVID-19. The update, in keeping with the state’s SMARTER plan, provides strategies for responding to direct and indirect COVID-19 exposure in indoor environments, and aligns with the most current science, data, and information. These changes take effect Friday, Oct. 14, 2022.

The amended order can be viewed here, as well as a Q&A.

Updated Testing Requirements for Visitors to Health Care Facilities

Beginning Saturday, Sept. 17, visitors to health care facilities, such as skilled nursing facilities and general acute care hospitals, will no longer be required to be tested or show proof of vaccination in order to visit loved ones. Visitors must continue to comply with CDPH Masking Guidance while visiting loved ones indoors in these settings.

Facilities should continue to maintain all current infection prevention practices to protect the vulnerable populations in health care facilities. In addition, they should continue to offer testing for visitors per recommendations from CDPH and/or the local public health department and have the ability to ramp up testing if it is required again at a future date.

In August, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in updated testing guidance, indicated screening testing is no longer recommended in general community settings. Therefore, CDPH has also updated COVID-19 testing guidance.

Preparing for a Healthy 2022-23 School Year

The Safe Schools for All Hub consolidates key resources and information related to COVID-19 and schools.

Learn more about the COVID-19 mitigation strategies to keep students, staff, and communities safe in the 2022-23 K-12 Schools Guidance.

Get more information on changes to COVID-19 testing strategies for the 2022-23 school year in the 2022-23 K-12 Schools Testing Framework.

The CDPH Testing Taskforce School Testing team has released a 2022-2023 K-12 Schools Testing Framework Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).

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 individual six months of age and older receive their primary COVID-19 vaccine series and booster dose.

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.