Officials from Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital on Monday announced an additional death, bringing the total number of COVID-19 deaths since the onset of the pandemic to 179, spokesman Patrick Moody confirmed.

Currently, there are zero tests pending, 21 patients in the hospital, and a total of 1,595 patients who have been treated and discharged since the pandemic began.

Privacy laws prohibit the hospital from releasing the community of residence for patients who die there; that info is reported by the L.A. County Public Health COVID-19 dashboard, which generally lags 48 hours behind.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Monday seven new deaths and 990 new cases of COVID-19 county wide, with 37,558 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

The number of cases and deaths reflect reporting delays over the weekend. Of the seven new deaths reported Monday, three people who passed away were over the age of 80, three people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, and one person who died was between the ages of 50 and 64. To date, Public Health has identified 1,494,119 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 26,644 deaths.

There are 672 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 9,070,000 individuals with 15% of people testing positive. Monday’s test positivity rate is 0.8%.

Cases from Healthcare Workers
Cases among healthcare workers declined from 257 cases reported the week ending Oct. 2, to 166 new cases reported the week ending Oct. 23. Of the 166 new cases among healthcare workers reported across the county; 78 cases were reported among vaccinated healthcare workers and 88 among unvaccinated workers.

Since the pandemic began, 46,376 healthcare workers and first responders have tested positive for COVID-19. To date, 300 healthcare workers have tragically passed away from COVID-19; most deaths occurring between July 2020 and February 2021 with staff at skilled nursing facilities and hospitals accounting for most deaths. Since Oct. 2, seven healthcare workers have passed away from COVID-19.

Healthcare workers are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19; those with an approved medical or religious exemption need to be tested once or twice weekly. Most hospitals and healthcare providers are reporting relatively high rates of vaccination among their employees. Last week’s report from skilled nursing facilities indicated that 95% of staff are fully vaccinated. The State is working with the licensing divisions to assess overall compliance.

**More from Los Angeles County Public Health further below**

William S. Hart Union High School District COVID-19 Dashboard

The William S. Hart Union High School District provides ongoing information to our community regarding COVID-19 cases while maintaining confidentiality for our students and staff. The COVID-19 case data below is updated regularly to indicate any currently confirmed COVID-19 positive case in staff members or students by school site. The data below is specific to individuals who have been physically present on a District campus within 14 days of receiving a positive COVID-19 test. The District, in conjunction with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, conducts contact tracing and directly notifies and provides resources for parents of students identified as close contacts (6 feet or less for 15 cumulative minutes or more).

Note: To see the communication process in the event of a positive COVID-19 case, visit https://www.hartdistrict.org/apps/pages/covid-19dashboard.

Student Dashboard

Staff Dashboard

Santa Clarita Valley Monday Update
As of 5:00 p.m. Monday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard recorded two additional deaths in the city of Santa Clarita, bringing the total number of deaths from COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic to 350.

The following is the community breakdown of the 350 SCV residents who have died, according to the L.A. County dashboard:

294 in Santa Clarita

21 in Castaic

10 in Acton

8 in Stevenson Ranch

6 in unincorporated Canyon Country

3 in Agua Dulce

3 in Val Verde

1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon

1 in Elizabeth Lake

1 in Newhall

1 in unincorporated Saugus/Canyon Country

1 in Valencia

0 in Lake Hughes (**revised from 1)

SCV Cases

Of the 37,558 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 27,557

* Castaic: 4,525

Stevenson Ranch: 1,776

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 1,180

Acton: 783

Val Verde: 434

Agua Dulce: 418

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 298

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 167

Elizabeth Lake: 117

Bouquet Canyon: 72

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 69

Lake Hughes: 60

Saugus/Canyon Country: 52

Sand Canyon: 24

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 21

Placerita Canyon: 5

*Note: The county is unable to break out separate numbers for Castaic and PDC/NCCF because the county uses geotagging software that cannot be changed at this time, according to officials. Click here for the LASD COVID-19 dashboard.

L.A. County

“To the families and friends grieving the loss of a loved one to COVID-19, we are deeply sorry for your loss and wish you peace,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “There is urgency for those unvaccinated to get vaccinated, and for those eligible for an additional dose because of their age, underlying health conditions, or occupation, to get their booster. We saw last year how damaging the virus can be and how colder weather and increased intermingling leads to more transmission. We are lucky that this year we have powerful vaccines that can effectively blunt transmission. However, there is only a small window of time still available to improve vaccination coverage across the county before the holiday season takes off. Let’s do everything possible to make sure scores of people don’t spend the holidays away from those they love because they are sick or hospitalized with the virus.”

Public Health encourages everyone not yet vaccinated to get vaccinated, and everyone eligible for a booster to get their booster. All three FDA-approved vaccines; Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson are available for eligible individuals

People eligible for boosters include adults of any age who received their first Johnson & Johnson dose at least two months ago, and people who got the second dose of their Pfizer or Moderna vaccines at least six months ago and are 65-plus years old or are over 18 and live in long-term care settings, have underlying medical conditions, or work or live in high-risk settings.

To find a vaccination site near you, to make an appointment at vaccination sites, and much more, Visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish) If you don’t have internet access, can’t use a computer, or you’re over 65, you can call 1-833-540-0473 for help finding an appointment or scheduling a home-visit if you are homebound. Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status.

County Reopening Protocols, COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard, COVID-19 Surveillance Interactive Dashboard, Roadmap to Recovery, Recovery Dashboard, and additional actions you can take to protect yourself, your family and your community are on the Public Health website, www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

California Monday

California Department of Public Health confirmed Monday 4,666,938 cases and 71,532 deaths to date. There are 4,191 confirmed hospitalizations and 1,000 ICU hospitalizations in the state.

Monday’s average case count is 5,099 (average daily case count over 7 days).

COVID-19 claims the lives of 69 Californians each day (average daily death count over 7 days).

Vaccinations

· 53,127,097 total vaccines administered.

· 80.8% of the eligible population (12+) has been vaccinated with at least one dose.

· 142,060 people a day are receiving COVID-19 vaccination (average daily dose count over 7 days).

Testing

· The testing positivity rate is 2.4% (average rate over 7 days).

Cases, hospitalizations and deaths are largely occurring among unvaccinated populations. See the data for vaccinated and unvaccinated cases.

– Unvaccinated people were 6.9 times more likely to get COVID-19 (data from Oct. 12 to Oct. 18, 2021).

– Unvaccinated people were 9.9 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 (data from Oct. 5, 2021 to Oct. 11, 2021).

– Unvaccinated people were 15.0 times more likely to die from COVID-19 (data from Sept. 28, 2021 to Oct. 4, 2021).

The 7-day positivity rate is 2.5%.

There have been 101,496,250 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 227,069 during the prior 24-hour reporting period.

As of Oct. 28, according to the CDC, 86.8% of eligible Californians have received at least one dose. Providers have reported to CDPH that a total of 52,508,174 vaccine doses have been administered statewide. Numbers do not represent true day-to-day change as reporting may be delayed. For more vaccination data, visit the COVID-19 Vaccine Data Dashboard.

Stop the Spread: Get Vaccinated for COVID-19

The risk for COVID-19 exposure and infection continues as a number of Californians remain unvaccinated. With the emergence of the more transmissible Delta variant, there is a renewed urgency to get all eligible Californians vaccinated as quickly as possible and complete their two-dose vaccination process if they are receiving Pfizer or Moderna.

CDPH is reminding unvaccinated Californians that the COVID-19 vaccine is safe, free and provides excellent protection from severe COVID-19 illness, including the Delta variant, hospitalization, and death.

Individuals aged 12+ are eligible for vaccination. Visit myturn.ca.gov to make an appointment. Individuals aged 17 and younger may need the consent of a parent or legal guardian for vaccination. Visit Vaccinate All 58 to learn more about the safe and effective vaccines available.

**Note: This reissue of Monday’s COVID-19 Facts news release includes corrected numbers for MIS-C cases and Testing Turnaround Time, which is reflected below.

Testing Turnaround Time

The testing turnaround time dashboard reports how long California patients are waiting for COVID-19 test results. During the week of Oct. 17 to Oct. 23, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.0 day. During this same time period, 78% of patients received test results in one day and 96% received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

As of Oct. 18, there have been 660 cases cases of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) reported statewide. MIS-C is a rare inflammatory condition associated with COVID-19 that can damage multiple organ systems. MIS-C can require hospitalization and be life threatening.

Keep California Healthy
Protect yourself, family, friends and your community by following these prevention measures:

– Get vaccinated when it’s your turn. Californians age 16+ are eligible to make an appointment.

– If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 (fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle or body aches), call your health care provider.

– If you believe you have been exposed, get tested. Free, confidential testing is available statewide.

– Keep gatherings small and outdoors and follow state and local public health guidance.

– Wear a mask and get the most out of masking – an effective mask has both good fit and good filtration.

– Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

– Delay non-essential travel outside of California until you are fully vaccinated. Follow California’s travel advisory.

– Avoid close contact with people who are sick and stay home from work and school if you feel ill.

– Add your phone to the fight by signing up for COVID-19 exposure notifications from CA Notify.

– Answer the call or text if a contact tracer from the CA COVID Team or your local health department tries to connect.

Additional data and udpates:

Tracking COVID-19 in California

State Dashboard – Daily COVID-19 data

County Map – Local data, including tier status and ICU capacity

Data and Tools – Models and dashboards for researchers, scientists, and the public

Blueprint for a Safer Economy– Data for establishing tier status

COVID-19 Race & Ethnicity Data – Weekly updated Race & Ethnicity data

Cases and Deaths by Age Group – Weekly updated Deaths by Age Group data

Health Equity Dashboard – See how COVID-19 highlights existing inequities in health

Tracking Variants – Data on the variants California is currently monitoring

Safe Schools for All Hub – Information about safe in-person instruction

School Districts Reopening Map – data on public schools and reported outbreaks

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.

What to Do if You Think You’re Sick
Call ahead: If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 (fever, cough or shortness of breath), call your health care provider before seeking medical care so that appropriate precautions can be taken. More than 85 community testing sites also offer free, confidential testing: Find a COVID-19 Testing Site.

For more information about what Californians can do to prevent the spread of COVID-19, visit Coronavirus (COVID-19) in California.

California continues to issue guidance on preparing and protecting California from COVID-19. Consolidated guidance is available on the California Department of Public Health’s Guidance webpage.