The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has confirmed 55 new deaths and 399 new cases of COVID-19. This is the largest increase in new deaths for the third consecutive day.

Santa Clarita Valley Update

A minimum 218 cases have been reported for the Santa Clarita Valley, as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 178

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 15

Stevenson Ranch: 11

Castaic: 9

Acton: 1 to 4

Agua Dulce: 1 to 4

Bouquet Canyon (unincorporated portion) : 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.

Countywide

Over the last 48 hours, there have been 871 new cases. Forty-three people who died were over the age of 65; 9 people who died were between the ages of 41 to 65 years old. Forty-eight people had underlying health conditions, while four people over the age of 65 had no reported underlying health conditions. One death was reported by the City of Long Beach and two deaths by the City of Pasadena.

Henry Mayo

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital spokesman Patrick Moody confirmed as of noon Thursday of the 484 persons tested to date, 98 were positive, 387 negative, 5 are pending and 35 are currently hospitalized in a dedicated unit receiving ICU-level care.

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

“The number of discharged COVID-19 patients remains at 13,” Moody said. “The number of deceased remains at 2.”

County Totals, Racial & Ethnic Demographics

To date, Public Health has identified 10,854 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of LA County, and a total of 455 deaths. Eighty-eight percent of people who died had underlying health conditions. Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 390 people (92 percent of the cases); 33% of deaths occurred among Latinx residents, 31% among White residents, 17% among Asian residents, 16% among African American residents, and 3% among residents identifying with other races. Upon further investigation, 41 cases and two deaths reported earlier were not LA County residents. As of today, 2,847 people who tested positive for COVID-19 (26% 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 70,000 individuals and 11% of people testing positive.

“The increase this week on the number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 is distressing and a stark reminder of the devastation caused by COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Public Health is planning for our County’s eventual recovery and preparing for a time when we can ease the Health Officer Orders. Our goal is to get people back to work by gradually relaxing restrictions in a measured and disciplined way to avoid experiencing a resurgence of cases that overwhelms our healthcare system and threatens our collective wellbeing. Many routines will still be different, and practicing physical distancing, wearing face coverings, and keeping our hands clean will be very important until we have a vaccine.”

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. Beaches, trails and trailheads and non-essential businesses remain closed, and all public and private gatherings of any number of people occurring outside a single household or living unit remain prohibited. Slowing the spread of COVID-19 requires that the public adhere to all the directives that limit interactions with those outside their households.

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.

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

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