The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has confirmed 40 new deaths and 670 new cases of COVID-19. This is the largest increase in new deaths. Over the last 48 hours, there have been 909 new cases. Twenty-five people who died were over the age of 65 and nine people who died were between the ages of 41 to 65 years old. Twenty-two people had underlying health conditions; eight people over the age of 65 and four people between the ages of 41 to 65 years old had no reported underlying health conditions. Four deaths were reported by the City of Long Beach and two deaths by the City of Pasadena.

A minimum of 196 cases have been reported for the Santa Clarita Valley. The breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 157

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 14

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 to 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 Monday Update

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital spokesman Patrick Moody confirmed as of noon Tuesday of the 447 persons tested to date, 87 were positive, 358 negative, 4 are pending and 25 are currently hospitalized in a dedicated unit receiving ICU-level care, up 1 from Monday. The most recent death was announced Sunday, bringing the total number of deaths to 2. Moody said the discrepancies in the numbers are due to some patients being tested more than once.

To date, Public Health has identified 10,047 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of LA County, and a total of 360 deaths. Eighty-five percent of people who died had underlying health conditions. Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 292 people (87 percent of the cases); 34% of deaths occurred among Latinx residents, 32% among White residents, 17% among Asian residents, 16% among African American residents, and 2% among residents identifying with other races. Upon further investigation, 11 cases reported earlier were not LA County residents. As of today, 2,517 people who tested positive for COVID-19 (25% 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 63,000 individuals and 11% of people testing positive.

Slowing the spread of COVID-19 requires that the public adhere to all the directives that limit interactions with those outside their households. 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, 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.

“We send our sincere condolences to every person affected by these losses from COVID-19 and keep you in our thoughts and prayers,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “While we are effectively working together to reduce the spread of COVID-19, we must keep at it to avoid a surge in cases and deaths that could overwhelm our County – we do not want to lose ground. That means we must keep doing what we’re doing for now – staying home, physical distancing and using cloth face coverings – while we implement strategies to support our recovery.”

The current Health Officer Orders 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 also required to wear a face covering to enter essential businesses. 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. The new measures for essential businesses go into effect at midnight on April 15.

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.

Source: Johns Hopkins University.

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