Los Angeles County Public Health officials on Monday confirmed 32 new deaths and 987 new cases of COVID-19 countywide, as Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital in Valencia reported two new deaths since Friday.

The lower number of deaths and cases may reflect reporting delays over the weekend.

The Santa Clarita Valley now counts 26,173 total cases — 128 more than Friday — and 269 deaths due to COVID-19.

To date, Public Health identified 1,192,895 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 21,467 deaths.

There are 1,578 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 30% of these people are in the ICU.

The county is steadily making progress in reducing the average number of daily new cases of COVID-19. The seven-day average number of cases by episode date has now decreased to less than 1,000 per day. Public Health officials have not yet seen any increases in cases due to gatherings during the Super Bowl and Presidents Day weekend.

Testing results are available for more than 5,840,000 individuals with 19% of people testing positive. Today’s daily test positivity rate is 2.5%.

Nearly 1,960,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered across Los Angeles County. Of those vaccinated, 600,497 people have received second doses.

In addition to healthcare workers, residents and staff at long-term care facilities, and people who are age 65 or older, starting today, three additional workers are eligible for the vaccine; education and childcare workers, food and agriculture workers, and emergency service workers and law enforcement.

Those who fall under the newly eligible sectors will be able to get vaccinated at many sites across the County including pharmacies, local hospitals, mobile vaccination clinics and large capacity vaccination sites.

There are approximately 546,000 people in the education and childcare sector, 116,000 people in the emergency services and law enforcement sector, and 502,000 people in the food and agriculture sector eligible for a vaccine.

Vaccinations are scheduled on sector-specific days for these newly eligible groups at our large capacity vaccination sites. Workers will be required to show proof of their identity with a photo ID, that they reside or work in L.A. County, and are among a sector eligible for vaccinations.

See more SCV and L.A. County info and a vaccine update later in this report.

California Monday Snapshot

Statewide, as of Sunday, February 28, California Department of Public Health officials confirmed 3,479,078 COVID-19 cases (up 3,516) with 52,194 deaths from the disease (up 215) since the pandemic began.

There are 4,912 confirmed hospitalizations and 1,439 ICU hospitalizations in the state, continuing a downward trend.

As of February 25, local health departments have reported 95,641 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 397 deaths statewide.

There have been 48,712,676 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 243,570 during the prior 24-hour reporting period.

The 7-day positivity rate is 2.3% and the 14-day positivity rate is 2.6%, continuing a downward trend.

Numbers do not represent true day-over-day change as these results may include cases from prior to yesterday.

As of February 28, providers have reported administering a total of 9,087,899 vaccine doses statewide. Numbers do not represent true day-to-day change as reporting may be delayed.

The CDC reports that 11,158,090 doses have been delivered to entities within the state, and 12,112,965 vaccine doses, which includes the first and second dose, have been shipped.

See more California information later in this report.

Screencap from the Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering COVID-19 dashboard, showing COVID cases in the United States as of Monday afternoon, March 1, 2021.

U.S. Case Numbers Flatten at Higher Level Than Previous Surges

Worldwide, 114,350,611 people have been infected by COVID-19 while 2,536,865 people have died of the virus as of 1:23 p.m. Monday Pacific Time, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

In the U.S., more than 28,648,156 Americans have been diagnosed with COVID-19. The number of people in the U.S. who have died due to the virus has now surpassed 514,216.

With 4.25% of the world’s population (328.2 million) and more than 20% of the confirmed COVID-19 cases, the U.S. also continues to lead the world in deaths.

By comparison, Brazil (population 209.5 million) is No. 2 in deaths with 254,942 — half of the U.S. total — and No. 3 in cases with 10,551,259. India (population 1.353 billion) is No. 2 in cases, with 11,112,241 confirmed infections and No. 4 in deaths with 157,157, behind No. 3 Mexico’s 185,715 deaths, as of Monday afternoon.

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital Monday Update

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital reported one new death on Saturday and another on Monday due to COVID-19, bringing the hospital’s total COVID-19 fatalities to 143 to date, according to hospital spokesman Patrick Moody.

As of Monday, no cases were pending, 16 patients were hospitalized in a dedicated COVID-19 unit receiving ICU-level care, and a total of 1,151 patients had been treated and discharged, Moody said.

Henry Mayo releases complete statistics weekly, usually on Wednesdays, unless one or more new deaths occur.

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

Santa Clarita Valley Monday Update

As of 6 p.m. Saturday, the latest update of the L.A. County Public Health dashboard counted 267 deaths among Santa Clarita Valley residents since the pandemic began, but did not yet include the two deaths Henry Mayo reported Saturday and Monday.

Of the 269 SCV residents who have died, 230 lived in Santa Clarita, 16 in Castaic, seven in Acton, three in Stevenson Ranch, three in unincorporated Canyon Country, three in Agua Dulce, one in Newhall, one in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon, one in Lake Hughes, one in Val Verde, one in Valencia, and one in a community not yet named.

Of the 26,173 confirmed COVID-19 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

* City of Santa Clarita: 19,119

* Castaic: 3,592 (incl. Pitchess Detention Center & North County Correctional Facility*)

* Stevenson Ranch: 1,054

* Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 790

* Acton: 447

* Val Verde: 309

* Agua Dulce: 254

* Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 181

* Saugus (unincorporated portion): 131

* Elizabeth Lake: 74

* Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 66

* Bouquet Canyon: 44

* Lake Hughes: 40

* Saugus/Canyon Country: 40

* Sand Canyon: 17

* San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 14

* Placerita Canyon: 1

*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 Vaccine Update
Join the Department of Public Health Tuesday, March 2 at 6 p.m. for the COVID-19 Virtual Town Hall Event. Dr. Muntu Davis, Dr. Paul Simon, Dr. Seira Kurian, Dr. Eloisa Gonzalez, and Dr. Naman Shah will discuss the latest updates on the COVID-19 vaccine.

Click here to submit questions.

County Receives Limited Vaccine Supply

L.A. County’s network of vaccination sites has the capacity for 500,000 appointment slots this week, although Public Health only received enough doses for 270,000 appointments. County and city of L.A. sites will be vaccinating 130,000 people combined. Federally Qualified Health Centers are administering almost 56,000 doses and pharmacies are administering 34,000 doses.

Across sectors, there is much more capacity to vaccinate, though there is simply not enough supply of vaccine to offer more appointments. Our large-capacity vaccination sites alone could provide 142,000 additional doses this week if there was sufficient vaccine supply.

The COVID-19 vaccination supersite at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia on Friday, Feb. 12, 2021. | Photo: Stephen K. Peeples / SCVTV.

Vaccination Locations

While COVID-19 vaccine supply remains very limited, Public Health continues to build an extensive network with pharmacies, federally qualified health centers, hospitals, health clinics, and community vaccination sites, including seven large-capacity sites:

* Dodger Stadium (operated by the city of Los Angeles)

* Six Flags Magic Mountain, 26101 Magic Mountain Pkwy, Valencia 91355

* California State University, Northridge, 18111 Nordhoff St, Northridge 91330

* Pomona Fairplex, 1101 W McKinley Ave, Pomona 91768

* The Forum, 3900 W Manchester Blvd, Inglewood 90305

* L.A. County Office of Education, 12830 Columbia Way, Downey 90242

* California State University, Los Angeles, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles 90032 (operated by FEMA)

The state is also transitioning the vaccination effort statewide to be coordinated by BlueShield of California. During and after this transition, Public Health’s website, www.VaccinateLACounty.com and www.VaccunateLosAngeles.com, will remain a portal for the latest information about COVID-19 and the vaccine and link people to the statewide appointment registration system.

Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Arrival Imminent

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine received Emergency Use Authorization and L.A. County will likely begin to see doses of this vaccine as early as this week. As Johnson & Johnson doses come into L.A. County, this vaccine will be offered at a number of sites including the large capacity vaccination sites.

All three vaccines are extraordinarily powerful and, in clinical trials, were 100% effective preventing hospitalizations and deaths. Please know that there will not be any ability to choose your vaccine brand when being vaccinated.

Focus on Hardest-Hit Communities

L.A. County is working to ensure that eligible residents and workers in the hardest-hit communities have increased access to vaccines. Access to people living in communities that have been the hardest hit by the pandemic remains a challenge, and Public Health is continuing to employ strategies to increase access to vaccinations for these groups.

Public Health is encouraging more restricted clinics for people who live in these communities so they have access to appointments and do not have to travel far to be vaccinated. The county is shifting some allocations to smaller sites to make sure providers that serve our hardest-hit communities are able to vaccinate more people as well as increasing the number of mobile teams that can visit people who may not be able to travel for a vaccination appointment.

This week, there will be 46 mobile vaccination teams that will visit 26 Affordable Senior Housing Developments and 20 Senior Residential Communities. The county is also partnering with faith-based and community-based organizations that can directly reach out to their congregations and clients and assist them with registering to be vaccinated.

“Our most under-resourced communities in L.A. County have seen the most cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, and these inequities are playing out again as we work to vaccinate our communities,” Public Health’s Ferrer said.

“For this reason, we are continuing to develop new partnerships and strategies to make getting vaccinated in these communities as accessible and as barrier-free as possible,” she said. “When we think about the last year, we cannot help but reflect on all the fear and tragedy so many experienced. We have also witnessed heroism in the face of this pandemic by our healthcare workers across L.A. County, and across the world. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all our healthcare workers for everything you have done and continue to do to provide those most in need with the best care possible.”

L.A. County Demographics — Cases by Age Group (excluding Long Beach and Pasadena)

* 0 to 4: 22261

* 5 to 11: 53916

* 12 to 17: 67563

* 18 to 29: 267193

* 30 to 49: 375936

* 50 to 64: 218375

* 65 to 79: 87130

* over 80: 31613

* Under Investigation 6801

L.A. County Demographics — Deaths

Of the 32 new deaths reported today, 12 people that passed away were over the age of 80, 12 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, six people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, one person who died was between the ages of 30 and 49, and one person who died was between the ages of 18 and 29.

Healthcare Workers Update

Healthcare workers experienced a surge in cases in the late fall through the winter. Now, as cases overall have declined and many healthcare workers are vaccinated, cases have dropped to the lowest they have been since the beginning of the pandemic.

During the week of November 29, there were more trhan 1,800 cases among healthcare workers. The week of February 14, there were just 69 cases. Among workers in skilled nursing facilities, a group experiencing one-fourth of healthcare worker cases, there is a significant decrease in cases. The week of November 29, there were 434 cases among these healthcare workers, and the week of February 14, there were 10.

The number of deaths among healthcare workers has seen a rapid decline since the peak of the surge in early January. During the week of January 3, 21 healthcare workers passed away from COVID-19. During the week of February 21, two healthcare workers died. These numbers, no matter what they are, are tragic and Public Health officials mourn the loss of all of these heroes who passed away from COVID-19.

As of February 28, 78% of skilled nursing home staff received at least a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 69% of all staff received their second dose and are fully vaccinated. High rates of vaccination are correlated with the lowest rates of cases and deaths among healthcare workers at nursing homes, and we are grateful to everyone that got vaccinated and to the teams that coordinated vaccinations at each site.

L.A. County Public Health’s Reopening Protocols, COVID-19 Surveillance Interactive Dashboard, Roadmap to Recovery, Recovery Dashboard, and additional things you can do to protect yourself, your family and your community are on the Public Health website, www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

California Blueprint for a Safer Economy

Governor Newsom’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy imposes risk-based criteria on tightening and loosening COVID-19 allowable activities and expands the length of time between changes to assess how any movement affects the trajectory of the disease.

With the Regional Stay at Home Order rescinded statewide as of January 25, all counties are now under the rules and framework of the Blueprint for a Safer Economy and color-coded tiers that indicate which activities and businesses are open based on local case rates and test positivity.

* 47 counties are currently in the Purple (widespread) Tier (including Los Angeles County)

* 9 counties are currently in the Red (substantial) Tier

* 2 counties are currently in the Orange (moderate) Tier

* No counties are in the Yellow Tier

Blueprint tiers are updated weekly on Tuesdays. Find the status of activities in specific counties.

Vaccinate All 58
In order to increase the pace of COVID-19 vaccine distribution to those at greatest risk, the state is prioritizing individuals 65 and older to receive the vaccine as demand subsides among health care workers. This effort will help to reduce hospitalizations and save lives.

To sign up for a notification when you’re eligible for a vaccine, visit myturn.ca.gov.

For more information on the vaccine effort, visit the Vaccinate All 58 webpage.

Tracking Variants

Multiple variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 have been identified globally during the COVID-19 pandemic. These genetic mutations are expected, and some emerge and then disappear, while others persist or become common.

Most variants do not have a meaningful impact. Public health becomes concerned about a variant when it affects COVID-19 transmission, severity, testing, treatment or vaccine effectiveness. Get more information on the variants CDPH is currently monitoring.

‘Safe Schools for All’ Plan
Governor Newsom launched the Safe Schools for All Hub as a one-stop-shop for information about safe in-person instruction.

For more information on the transparency, accountability, and assistance measures related to California’s Safe Schools for All plan, visit the hub.

Travel Advisory

California Public Health has issued an updated travel advisory. Postponing travel and staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from COVID-19.

Non-essential travelers from other states or countries are strongly discouraged from entering California and should adhere to the state’s self-quarantine procedures for 10 days.

California Demographics: Health Equity Dashboard

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted existing inequities in health that are the result of structural racism and poverty, and the disproportionate prevalence of underlying conditions such as asthma and heart disease among Latinos and African Americans.

As part of its commitment to reduce health inequities and ensure the best outcomes for all Californians, the state has launched a Health Equity Dashboard on www.covid19.ca.gov/equity/ that tracks California’s health equity measure and data by race and ethnicity, age group, and sexual orientation/gender identity.

California Testing & Turnaround Time
More than 85 community testing sites offer free, confidential testing: Find a COVID-19 Testing Site.

The testing turnaround dashboard reports how long California patients are waiting for COVID-19 test results. California has worked to reduce testing turnaround times in recent weeks to help curb the spread of the virus.

During the week of February 14 to February 20, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.1 days. During this same time period, 80% of patients received test results in one day and 94% received them within two days. The testing turnaround time dashboard (PDF) is updated weekly.

All four tiers in the Testing Prioritization Guidance originally dated July 14, 2020, have equal priority for testing.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

Each week, the California Department of Public Health updates the number of cases of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) reported in the state.

As of February 22, 302 cases of MIS-C have been reported statewide, 36 more than the previous week. To protect patient confidentiality in counties with fewer than 11 cases, we are not providing total counts at this time.

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. Parents should be aware of the signs and symptoms of MIS-C including fever that does not go away, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, neck pain, rash, bloodshot eyes, or feeling tired.

Contact your child’s doctor immediately if your child has these symptoms. Early diagnosis and treatment of patients are critical to preventing long-term complications.

Protect Yourself and Your Family: Your Actions Save Lives

Protect yourself, family, friends, and community by following these prevention measures:

* Staying home except for essential needs/activities following local and state public health guidelines when patronizing approved businesses. To the extent that sectors are re-opened, Californians may leave their homes to work at, patronize, or otherwise engage with those businesses, establishments or activities.

* Avoiding non-essential travel, and practicing self-quarantine for 14 days after arrival if you leave the state.

* Keeping interactions to people who live in your household.

* Wearing a cloth face mask when out in public.

* Washing hands with soap and water for a minimum of 20 seconds.

* Avoiding touching eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.

* Covering a cough or sneeze with your sleeve or disposable tissue. Wash your hands afterward.

* Avoiding close contact with people who are sick.

* Staying away from work, school, or other people if you become sick with respiratory symptoms like fever and cough.

* Getting tested if you believe you’ve been exposed. Free, confidential testing is available statewide.

* Getting vaccinated when it’s your turn.

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

* Answering the call if a contact tracer from the CA COVID Team or local health department tries to connect.

* Following guidance from public health officials.

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 healthcare provider before seeking medical care so that appropriate precautions can be taken.

It’s important if someone thinks they could be positive for COVID-19 and are awaiting testing results to stay at home and act as if they are positive. This means self-isolating for 10 days and 72 hours after symptoms and fever subside.

If a person tests positive for COVID-19, they should plan on receiving a call from a public health specialist to discuss how to protect themselves and others, find out where they may have been, and who they were in close contact with while infectious.

California COVID-19 Data and Tools

A wide range of data and analysis guides California’s response to COVID-19. The state is making the data and its analytical tools available to researchers, scientists and the public at covid19.ca.gov.

* The Statewide COVID-19 Dashboard

* The California COVID-19 Assessment Tool (CalCAT)

* State Cases and Deaths Associated with COVID-19 by Age Group

* COVID-19 Race & Ethnicity Data

* COVID-19 Hospital Data and Case Statistics

* View additional datasets at the California Open Data Portal (including Testing Data, PPE Logistics Data, Hospital Data, Homeless Impact and more)

Consolidated guidance is available on the California Department of Public Health’s Guidance webpage.

* * * * *

Always check with trusted sources for the latest accurate information about novel coronavirus (COVID-19):

* Los Angeles County Department of Public Health

* California Department of Public Health

* Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

* Spanish

* World Health Organization

* Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 Dashboard

L.A. County residents can also call 2-1-1.

* * * * *