The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health on Monday confirmed 25 new deaths and 494 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the Santa Clarita Valley total to 5,525 confirmed cases and 55 deaths since the pandemic began.

The low number of new cases and deaths reported Monday reflects both a delay in test and death reports over the weekend and the closure of testing sites over the Labor Day holiday.

To date, Public Health has identified 248,821 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County, and a total of 6,030 deaths.

There are currently 943 people hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19 cases, 32% of them in the ICU. Test results are available for more than 2,380,000 individuals with 10% of all people testing positive.

“To the families mourning their loved one lost to COVID-19, we wish you healing and peace as we keep you close to our hearts during the days ahead,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health.

California Monday Snapshot

Statewide, as of Sunday, September 6, the California Department of Public Health confirmed a total of 735,235 COVID-19 cases (up 3,091), with 13,726 deaths from the disease (up 17).

There are 3,308 confirmed hospitalizations and 1,120 ICU hospitalizations in the state, continuing a downward trend.

California’s 7-day positivity rate is 4.0% and the 14-day positivity rate is 4.4%, also continuing a downward trend.

As of September 6, local health departments have reported 34,179 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 163 deaths statewide.

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

COVID Around the World: USA on Top, India Now No. 2 in Cases
Worldwide, 27,219,847 people have been infected by COVID-19 while 890,260 people have died as of 2:28 Monday afternoon, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Since the pandemic began, more than 6,298,235 Americans have been diagnosed with COVID-19, while the number of people in the U.S. who have died due to the virus has surpassed 189,140.

The United States has the world’s highest numbers of cases and deaths. By comparison, India, which surged past Brazil to take the No. 2 spot over Labor Day Weekend, had confirmed 4,204,613 million cases and 71,642 deaths as of Monday afternoon.

Santa Clarita Valley Monday Update

The L.A. County Public Health COVID-19 data dashboard was offline Monday. As of the latest update on Friday, Public Health confirmed 55 SCV residents have died of the virus since the pandemic began.

Of the people who died, 43 lived in the city of Santa Clarita, 5 in Castaic, 2 in Acton, 2 in Stevenson Ranch, 1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon, 1 in Val Verde, and 1 in unincorporated Valencia.

Of the 5,525 cases reported to Public Health among SCV residents to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 3,090

Castaic: 1,912 (most from Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility*)

Stevenson Ranch: 155

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 118

Acton: 65

Val Verde: 65

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 41

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 27

Agua Dulce: 25

Bouquet Canyon: 6

Elizabeth Lake: 6

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 6

Sand Canyon: 6

Lake Hughes: 2

Saugus/Canyon Country: 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.

Henry Mayo Monday Update
Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital on Monday, August 31 reported its 22nd death since the pandemic began, according to hospital spokesman Patrick Moody.

Henry Mayo now releases statistics weekly, on Wednesdays, unless there is a drastic change in the number of cases or a COVID-related death has been confirmed.

As of Wednesday, September 2, of the 6,951 people tested at Henry Mayo to date, 799 tested positive, 7,990 were negative, 19 were pending, 10 patients were hospitalized in a dedicated unit receiving ICU-level care (same as the previous Wednesday), and a total of 2300 COVID-19 patients have been discharged so far. COVID-19 fatalities at Henry Mayo stand at 22, Moody said.

Discrepancies in the testing numbers are due to some patients being tested multiple times. “Often a single patient is tested more than once,” Moody said.

Protecting L.A. County Workers

“Today, as we celebrate the labor movement and the social and economic achievements of American workers, let’s honor our workers with deliberate actions that protect them from COVID-19,” Ferrer said.

“We honor our workers and the meaning of Labor Day by being caring customers, responsible business owners and operators, and organized workers,” she said. “Responsible business owners and operators fully implement infection control and distancing directives for your business. Caring customers wear face coverings and keep a distance from all others.

“Organized workers practice infection control protocols and report violations immediately to Public Health at 888-700-9995; complaints and concerns can be reported anonymously,” Ferrer said. “Together we protect our workers, slow COVID-19 spread, and save lives.”

Public Health offers the following safety tips for businesses:

* Allow employees to stay home if they’re feeling sick.

* Modify workplaces to ensure distancing among employees and customers as much as possible.

* Provide face coverings to all employees.

* Ensure regular breaks so that employees can clean their hands with soap and water or hand sanitizer after contact with frequently touched surfaces or other people.

* Post large, clearly visible signs outlining infection-control measures.

* Train employees on Public Health safety measures including recognizing when a customer is out of compliance as well as company strategies on how to remedy the situation.

* Consider having extra face coverings available for customers who might not have one.

* Encourage contact-less transactions, curbside pick-up, and online purchases.

* Report outbreaks as soon as possible. If a workplace has three or more confirmed COVID-19 cases within 14 days, they must call Public Health immediately at 888-397-3993.

Using these tips will help keep workers and customers safe and healthy and prevent the spread of COVID-19.

L.A. County Demographics

Of the 25 new deaths reported Monday, nine people who died were over the age of 80 years old, eight people were between 65 and 79 years old, seven people were between 50 and 64 years old, and one person was between 30 and 49 years old.

Fifteen people who died had underlying health conditions including four people over 80, seven people between 65 and 79 years old, and four people between 50 and 64 years old.

Countywide, 92% of people who died had underlying health conditions.

Cases by Age Group (Los Angeles County only — excluding Long Beach and Pasadena)

* 0 to 4 3857

* 5 to 11 8387

* 12 to 17 10427

* 18 to 29 58358

* 30 to 49 80898

* 50 to 64 45512

* 65 to 79 18069

* over 80 8524

* Under Investigation 1423

L.A. County Demographics: Race/Ethnicity

Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 5,672 people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health); 51% of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 24% among White residents, 15% among Asian residents, 10% among African American/Black residents, less than 1% among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander residents and 1% among residents identifying with other races.

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.

Californians can go to covid19.ca.gov to find out where their county falls and what activities are allowable in each county.

California Testing

There have been 12,158,292 tests conducted in California, an increase of 111,101 over the prior 24-hour reporting period.

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

The CDPH released updated testing guidance on July 23 that focuses on testing hospitalized individuals with signs or symptoms of COVID-19 and people being tested as part of the investigation and management of outbreaks, including contact tracing.

The testing guidance also prioritizes individuals who have COVID-19 symptoms and individuals without symptoms who fall into high-risk categories, including people who live and work in nursing homes, homeless shelters and prisons, healthcare workers, and patients in hospitals.

The new guidance will ensure that Californians who most need tests get them even if there are limited supplies.

California Demographics

Overall, for adults 18 and older, Latinos, African Americans and Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are dying at disproportionately higher levels.

The proportion of COVID-19 deaths in African Americans is more than one-and-a-half times their population representation across all adult age categories. For Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, overall numbers are low, but almost double between the proportion of COVID-19 deaths and their population representation.

More males are dying from COVID-19 than females, in line with national trends.

More information is available at COVID-19 Race and Ethnicity Data.

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 August 31, there have been 57 cases of MIS-C reported statewide, an increase of 10 over the previous week.

To protect patient confidentiality in counties with fewer than 11 cases, CDPH is 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

Every person has a role to play. Protecting yourself and your family comes down to common sense:

* 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.

* Practicing social distancing

* 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

* 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 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.

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, to 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.

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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.

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