The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health on Monday confirmed 900 new cases of COVID-19 and 29 new deaths from the disease, with 431 cases identified to date in the Santa Clarita Valley.

Public Health has identified 20,417 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County, and a total of 942 deaths to date.

Twenty-five people who died were over the age of 65 years old and three people who died were between the ages of 41 to 65 years old. Nineteen people had underlying health conditions including 18 people over the age of 65 years old and one person between the ages of 41 to 65 years old. One death was reported by the City of Pasadena.

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

Santa Clarita Valley Update
Of the 431 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 326

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 21

Stevenson Ranch: 16

Castaic: 18

Acton: 8

Agua Dulce: 1

Elizabeth Lake 1

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 2

Val Verde: 34

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

Henry Mayo Monday Update

Of the 684 persons tested at Henry Mayo to date, 132 tested positive, 563 were negative, 4 are pending and 19 patients are currently hospitalized in a dedicated unit receiving ICU-level care, hospital spokesman Patrick Moody said Monday.

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 40, 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 865 people (98 percent of the cases); 37% of deaths occurred among Latinx residents, 28% among White residents, 18% among Asian residents, 14% 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, 11 cases reported earlier were not LA County residents.

As of Monday, 4,403 people who tested positive for COVID-19 (23% of positive cases) have been hospitalized at some point during their illness. Testing capacity continues to increase in LA County, with testing results available for almost 124,000 individuals and 14% of people testing positive.

Public Health will launch an interactive dashboard that will provide 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.

Healthcare Workers

Given the essential role of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, Public Health is tracking their numbers of positive cases and deaths. Public Health has confirmed 11 people who died from COVID-19 worked in a healthcare setting and eight of the people who died worked in skilled nursing facilities.

One thousand nine hundred and sixty-eight confirmed cases of COVID-19 occurred among healthcare workers and first responders and about 8% of these cases have been hospitalized. Forty-three percent of cases are among nurses, 5% are among physicians and 5% are among caregivers, receptionists, patient services, medical assistants, first responders and people working in administration.

About 52% of these cases do not know or did not report how they were exposed. However, 40% of healthcare workers reported that they were exposed to COVID-19 in a healthcare facility.

Healthcare workers who are positive worked at 24 different settings across the County; 35% worked in hospitals and 35% worked in skilled nursing.

“The increases in deaths represent our family members, friends and neighbors including front-line essential workers, who have passed away from COVID-19. To all who are grieving, you are in our thoughts and prayers, and we are so sorry for your loss,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Healthcare workers are on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, and they put themselves at risk every day so that we all can receive excellent care. We owe them a debt of gratitude and the protection and equipment they need to do their jobs safely. They are our heroes.”

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.

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.