The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has confirmed 81 new deaths and 642 new cases of the COVID-19 disease in the last 24 hours. This is the highest number of daily reported deaths in L.A. County to date, and the total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 almost doubled this past week. To date, Public Health has identified 12,021 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of the county including a minimum of 243 in the Santa Clarita Valley.

Santa Clarita Valley Update

The breakdown of COVID-19 cases in the Santa Clarita Valley is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 196

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 15

Stevenson Ranch: 13

Castaic: 10

Acton: 5

Agua Dulce: 1-4

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 1-4

Val Verde: 1-4

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

For health privacy reasons, the Health Department does not release the exact number of cases in communities with a population under 25,000 until the number reaches 5.

Countywide

Over the last 48 hours, there have been 1,209 new cases. Fifty-six people who died were over the age of 65; 18 people who died were between the ages of 41 to 65 years old; one person who died was between the ages of 18 to 40 years old. Sixty-three people who died had underlying health conditions; 52 people over the age of 65; 10 people between the ages of 41 to 65 years old; and one person between the ages of 18 to 40 years old. Two deaths were reported by the city of Long Beach and four deaths were reported by the city of Pasadena.

To date, Public Health has identified a total of 576 deaths in the county. Eighty-nine percent of people who died had underlying health conditions. Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 498 people (93 percent of the cases); 36% of deaths occurred among Latinx residents, 29% among White residents, 17% among Asian residents, 16% among African American residents, and 3% among residents identifying with other races. Upon further investigation, 12 cases reported earlier were not LA County residents. As of today, 3,280 people who tested positive for COVID-19 (27% 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 over 76,000 individuals and 14% of people testing positive.

“Today marks a very sad milestone for our County, we are reporting the highest number of COVID-19 deaths for any one day since the beginning of the pandemic, and our deepest condolences go out to each and every person grieving the loss of their loved ones,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “In this last week we have doubled the number of deaths that occurred among LA County residents. We are especially concerned about the overwhelming number of residents residing in our nursing homes who have passed away. I have requested additional support from our state and federal partners so we can work together to ensure that our nursing homes are as safe as possible for residents and employees. This includes asking for supplementary staffing and PPE, increased ability to test residents and employees, and improvements in infection control capacity at nursing homes.”

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.

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.

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