The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health on Friday confirmed 18 new deaths and 475 new cases of 2019 novel coronavirus COVID-19 and extended the county’s “Safer at Home” order through May 15.

Over the last 48 hours, there have been 900 new cases.

Ten people who died were over the age of 65; seven people between the ages of 41 to 65 years old and one person between the ages of 18 to 40 years old. One death was reported by the City of Long Beach and one death by the City of Pasadena.

Santa Clarita Valley Update
In the SCV, a minimum of 170 cases has been reported to date, with at least 2 deaths.

The breakdown of the reported cases is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 130

Bouquet Canyon: 1-4

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 12

Stevenson Ranch: 11

Castaic: 8

Acton: 5

Agua Dulce:1 to 4

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 1 to 4

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 1-4

Due to health privacy laws, the county does not report exact numbers of cases in communities with a population under 25,000 until there are 5 or more cases.

Henry Mayo Friday Update

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital spokesman Patrick Moody confirmed as of noon Friday of the 394 persons tested to date, 61 were positive, 323 negative, 20 are pending and 17 are currently hospitalized in a dedicated unit receiving ICU-level care, unchanged from Thursday.

Officials at the hospital confirmed its first death of a COVID-19 patient on Thursday.

To date, Public Health has identified 8,430 cases across all areas of L.A. County, including 241 deaths. Upon further investigation, 22 cases and two deaths reported earlier were not LA County residents. As of Friday, 2,043 people who tested positive for COVID-19 (24% of positive cases) have been hospitalized at some point during their illness.

Testing capacity continues to increase in LA county, with almost 40,700 individuals tested and 15% of people testing positive.

A new Health Officer Order is being issued that extends the stipulation in the previous Health Officer Order through May 15, 2020.

The Order also requires essential businesses to provide a cloth face covering for all of their employees to wear while performing duties that involve contact with other employees and or the public and to post their physical distancing plans.

The public is also required to wear a face covering to enter essential businesses. All public and private gatherings of any number of people occurring outside a single household or living unit remain prohibited.

Beaches, trails and trailheads and non-essential businesses remain closed.

It is critical that everyone continues to take these actions to slow the spread of COVID-19.

The Order allows essential businesses to implement the new measures by April 15.

“We are heartbroken by the loss of life we are reporting today and send our sincere condolences to every person affected by these losses,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health.

“Recent data modeling done in partnership with the Department of Health Services and UCLA suggests that our collective distancing efforts are working and that we must continue to stay home whenever possible,” Ferrer said. “The updated Health Officer Order extends ‘Safer at Home’ through May 15, and enhances measures that will protect employees who are working in essential services.”

“With this modeling data, the experts at the Department of Health Services have provided an informed perspective on what the weeks ahead could look like,” said L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas in a statement.

“The results are promising – but only if we don’t get complacent,” he said. “The analysis shows our hospitals can handle the anticipated surge of patients without running out of equipment like ventilators, but — and this is crucial — it’s up to all of us to keep it that way.

“We can save lives by staying at home and avoiding infection. Some of the lives we save may be those of our frontline and essential workers – heroes. Let’s stay home for them, so they can continue to go to work for all of us.

“The modeling data is a cautionary tale, but the outcome is up to us. LA County is in a position to preempt hospital surges and deaths — but only with our help. I encourage every Angeleno to continue to follow the extended public health order and stay at home.

“As we move forward, we must continue to be guided by real-time comprehensive data, including demographic and socioeconomic data,” he said. “This is imperative for us to remain effective in getting a handle on this pandemic and its unprecedented impact on our community.”

Public Health has issued the following guidance for people with mild illness during this time of increased spread:

The best community and individual defense against COVID-19 is to wash your hands frequently, avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands, avoid being around sick people, practice physical distancing, especially by staying at home, and wear a 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, essential workers providing care for people who are ill, and people who are ill.

– If you are mildly sick, stay home for at least seven days and until 72 hours after being fever and symptom free. Call your doctor if you are concerned and/or your symptoms worsen. Individuals who are elderly, have underlying health conditions or are pregnant may be at higher risk of serious illness and should contact their doctor early if they are sick.

Additional things you can do to protect yourself, your family and your community are on the Public Health website, www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

Here’s the Health Order extending “Safer at Home” through May 15:

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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 (CDC)

– Spanish

– World Health Organization

LA County residents can also call 2-1-1.

The Department of Public Health is committed to promoting health equity and ensuring optimal health and well-being for all 10 million residents of Los Angeles County. Through a variety of programs, community partnerships and services, Public Health oversees environmental health, disease control, and community and family health. Nationally accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health comprises nearly 4,500 employees and has an annual budget of $1.2 billion. To learn more about Los Angeles County Public Health, please visit www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.