The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health on Monday confirmed 591 new cases of COVID-19 and 39 new deaths, with 745 cases reported to date in the Santa Clarita Valley.

Countywide, thirty-three people who died were over the age of 65 years old; four 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. Twenty-five people had underlying health conditions including 22 people over the age of 65 years old and three people between the ages of 41 to 65 years old. One death was reported by the city of Long Beach.

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

To date, Public Health has identified 32,258 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County, and a total of 1,569 deaths.

Upon further investigation, 10 cases and one death reported earlier were not L.A. County residents.

As of Monday, 5,437 people who tested positive for COVID-19 (17% 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 240,000 individuals and 12% of people testing positive. This is a correction to Sunday’s count of over 245,000 individuals tested and is due to the inclusion of serology test results.

Santa Clarita Valley Monday Update
Of the 745 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 496

Castaic: 172

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 28

Stevenson Ranch: 23

Acton: 8

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 6

Val Verde: 4

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 4

Agua Dulce: 3

Elizabeth Lake 1

Henry Mayo Monday Update
Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital did not release new numbers Monday because it has switched to a weekly reporting of COVID-19 cases, spokesman Patrick Moody said.

As of Wednesday, May 6, the last time numbers were released, of the 897 persons tested at Henry Mayo to date, 165 tested positive, 819 were negative, 30 were pending and 17 patients were hospitalized in a dedicated unit receiving ICU-level care. Fifty-five COVID-19 patients have been discharged.

The hospital has confirmed 6 deaths from COVID-19 to date.

Discrepancies in the testing numbers are due to some patients being tested more than once, Moody said.

L.A. County Demographics
Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 1,445 people (99 percent of the cases); 38% of deaths occurred among Latinx residents, 29% among White residents, 18% among Asian residents, 12% 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.

Healthcare Workers
Public Health continues tracking the number of positive cases and deaths among healthcare workers related to the COVID-19 pandemic response. Public Health has confirmed 20 people who died from COVID-19 worked in a healthcare setting; 14 people who died worked in skilled nursing and assisted living facilities, three people worked in hospitals, one person worked in a correctional facility, and for two people who died, their work setting was not specified.

A total of 3,614 confirmed cases of COVID-19 occurred among healthcare workers and first responders; this is an additional 636 new cases reported since the previous week. Seven percent of healthcare workers with COVID-19 have been hospitalized.

Forty-six percent of cases are among nurses, though cases have been identified among a range of occupational roles, including caregivers, people who work in administration, physicians and medical assistants.

About 58% of these cases do not know or did not report how they were exposed. However, 79% of healthcare workers with known exposure were exposed in a healthcare facility.

Healthcare workers who are positive worked at 25 different occupational settings, and the vast majority of cases are among healthcare workers from skilled nursing facilities and hospitals.

“As we report these numbers every day, we know that many families are suffering the loss of loved ones. We are so very sorry for your loss. You are in our thoughts and prayers every day,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “For those of you who were out this weekend as we began our recovery journey, thank you so much for following physical distancing measures and other rules for using reopened outdoor space, and thank you to the Department of Parks and Recreations and their partners for all of the work they’re doing to keep people safe. Our retail establishments will need to be sure not to open for curbside pickup until they are able to meet all the directives in the Health Officer Order and comply with the protocols.”

Roadmap to Recovery
Currently, L.A. County is in phase two of the five-stage roadmap to recovery which allows florists and some retailers to offer curbside pickup only, car dealership showrooms to reopen with appropriate physical distancing and infection control measures, and trails and golf courses to reopen with pro shops remaining closed to public entry.

Public Health surveyed businesses last weekend to determine if physical distancing and infection control measures were being followed. Of the 410 businesses surveyed, 162 were in violation of the Health Officer Order because they were allowing customers into stores, not following physical distancing measures and not requiring customers to wear cloth face coverings.

As a reminder, retail establishments are closed to public entry and must ensure compliance with all protocols before reopening. Inspectors will continue to monitor for compliance and ensure that all adhere to the Health Officer Order.

Until the final stage five is reached, Health Officer Orders and directives will continue to ensure the slow of spread of COVID-19 to prevent an overwhelming surge of COVID-19 cases at healthcare facilities. People who have underlying health conditions will still be at much greater risk for serious illness from COVID-19, so it will continue to be very important for the County’s vulnerable residents to stay at home as much as possible, to have groceries and medicine delivered, and to know to call their providers immediately if they have even mild symptoms.

Interactive Dashboard

An interactive dashboard is available that provides an overview on 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. Visit Public Health’s COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard here.

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.

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.

See Update #2 to the April 10 Health Order and the L.A. County Health incident report for May 11, 2020 below:

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