The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health on Friday confirmed 1,065 new cases of COVID-19 and 62 new deaths from the disease, with 497 cases identified to date in the Santa Clarita Valley.

To date, Public Health has identified 24,215 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of LA County, and a total of 1,172 deaths.

Forty-six people who died were over the age of 65 years old, seven people who died were between the ages of 41 to 65 years old, and one person who died was between the ages of 18 and 40 years old. Forty-six people had underlying health conditions including 39 people over the age of 65 years old and seven people between the ages of 41 to 65 years old. Eight deaths were reported by the City of Pasadena.

Ninety-two percent of people who died had underlying health conditions.

Upon further investigation, 32 cases and one death reported earlier were not L.A. County residents.

Santa Clarita Valley Friday Update
Of the 497 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 378

Val Verde: 39

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 25

Castaic: 21

Stevenson Ranch: 16

Acton: 8

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

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 3

Agua Dulce: 1

Elizabeth Lake 1

Henry Mayo Friday Update

Of the 769 persons tested at Henry Mayo to date, 149 tested positive, 620 were negative, 8 are pending and 15 patients are currently hospitalized in a dedicated unit receiving ICU-level care, hospital spokesman Patrick Moody said Friday.

Other discrepancies in the numbers are due to some patients being tested more than once, he said.

The number of discharged COVID-19 patients is now 48, Moody said. There have been four deaths at the hospital to date.

L.A. County Demographics

Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 1,069 people (98 percent of the cases); 38% of deaths occurred among Latinx residents, 29% among White residents, 19% among Asian residents, 13% among African American residents, 1% among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander residents and 1% among residents identifying with other races. African Americans, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and people living in communities with high levels of poverty continue to have the highest rate of death per 100,000 people for COVID-19 when compared to other groups.

Upon further investigation, 32 cases and one death reported earlier were not LA County residents.

As of Friday, 4,880 people who tested positive for COVID-19 (21% of positive cases) have been hospitalized at some point during their illness. Testing capacity continues to increase in L.A. County, with testing results available for over 152,000 individuals and 14% of people testing positive.

New CDC Self-Isolation Guidelines

This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated their guidance on how long people who are positive for COVID-19 should self-isolate.

New evidence suggests it may take longer for the virus to shed, which means that an infected person may be able to infect other people for a longer period of time than was initially thought. People who are positive or presumed positive for COVID-19 should now self-isolate for 10 days and 72 hours after fever and symptoms subside.

This means you must stay home until your fever has resolved without the use of fever-reducing medications and there is an improvement in your respiratory symptoms (e.g., cough, shortness of breath) for at least 3 days (72 hours) after recovery, AND at least 10 days have passed since your symptoms first appeared or you were tested.

If you have been in close contact with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19 or is presumed to be infected with COVID-19, you must quarantine for 14 days from your last contact with that individual.

If you begin experiencing symptoms, you must self-isolate for 10 days and 72 hours after fever and symptoms subside. Individuals who are elderly or who have underlying health conditions may be at higher risk of serious illness and should contact their doctor as soon as they are sick.

“To all of you who are mourning the loss of family members or friends who have passed away from COVID-19, we are mourning with you and we are keeping you in our thoughts and prayers,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “L.A. County continues to be under the Safer at Home order, and while we are planning for recovery, there will still need to be Health Officer orders and directives that make sure we open slowly and as carefully as possible to avoid huge outbreaks and overwhelming our healthcare system. We are grateful to all who continue to do your part to follow directives – it is saving lives.”

An interactive dashboard is available that provides an overview of COVID-19 testing, cases and deaths along with maps and graphs showing testing, cases and death data by community poverty level, age, sex and race/ethnicity. To view Public Health’s COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard, visit http://dashboard.publichealth.lacounty.gov/covid19_surveillance_dashboard/.

What to Do if You Are Ill

Public Health reminds everyone that if you are ill, even with mild symptoms, please self-isolate at home for 7 days and until you are fever and symptom-free for 72 hours.

If you have been in close contact with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19 or is presumed to be infected with COVID-19, you must quarantine for 14 days from your last contact with that individual.

Individuals who are elderly, have underlying health conditions or are pregnant may be at higher risk of serious illness and should contact their doctor as soon as they are sick.

Best Protections

The best protection against COVID-19 is to wash your hands frequently, avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, self-isolate if you are sick, practice physical distancing (especially by staying at home) and wear a clean face covering when out in the public procuring or providing essential services.

N95 and surgical masks should only be used by healthcare workers, first responders and essential workers providing care for people who are ill.

The current Health Officer Order extends the previous Health Officer Order through May 15 and requires essential businesses to provide a cloth face covering for all employees to wear while performing duties that involve contact with other employees and or the public and to post physical distancing plans.

The public is required to wear a face covering to enter essential businesses as well.

Photo credit: Credit: Anya Smalanick.

For additional things you can do to protect yourself, your family and your community, visit the Public Health website at www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

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.

Here’s the L.A. County Public Health incident report for May 1, 2020:

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