The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health on Monday confirmed 1 new death and 663 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the SCV total to 6,114 confirmed cases and 59 deaths since the pandemic began.

This is the lowest number of new deaths reported since March. However, Public Health cautions the decrease of new deaths and new cases reported Monday reflects, in part, a reporting lag from over the weekend.

To date, Public Health has identified 268,455 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County, and a total of 6,515 deaths. Upon further investigation, nine cases reported earlier were not L.A. County residents.

“To the many people across our communities who are grieving a loved one or friend who has passed away from COVID-19, we are so sorry for your loss,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, director of L.A. County Public Health.

There are 689 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 and 34% of these people are in the ICU.

Testing results are available for more than 2,646,000 county residents with 9% of all people testing positive.

California Monday Snapshot

Statewide, as of Sunday, September 27, the California Department of Public Health confirmed a total of 805,263 COVID-19 cases (up 2,955), with 15,608 deaths from the disease (up 21).

There are 2,317 confirmed hospitalizations and 714 ICU hospitalizations in the state, continuing a downward trend.

California’s 7-day positivity rate is 2.9% and the 14-day positivity rate is 2.8%, also continuing a downward trend.

As of September 27, local health departments have reported 38,827 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 185 deaths statewide.

Numbers may not represent true day-over-day change as reporting of test results can be delayed.

The world passed a grim milestone Monday, September 28: 1 million people have died in the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 tracker.

COVID Around the World: A Million Deaths

Worldwide, 33,273,720 people have been infected by COVID-19 while 1,000,555 people have died as of 5:23 Monday afternoon Pacific Time, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Since the pandemic began, more than 7,147,241 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 205,031.

The United States has the world’s highest numbers of cases and deaths. By comparison, No. 2 Brazil’s death toll is 142,058. India, at No. 2 in cases, had confirmed 6,074,702 cases and 95,542 deaths as of late Monday afternoon.

Santa Clarita Valley Monday Update

As of 8 p.m. Saturday, September 26, the latest update to its COVID-19 data dashboard, L.A. County Public Health has again revised the number of deaths in the city of Santa Clarita. Of the 59 (revised from 58) SCV residents who have died, 48 (revised from 47) lived in the city of Santa Clarita, 4 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 6,114 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 3,469

Castaic: 2,060 (includes Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility*)

Stevenson Ranch: 164

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 135

Val Verde: 78

Acton: 70

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 47

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 27

Agua Dulce: 27

Bouquet Canyon: 8

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 9

Elizabeth Lake: 7

Sand Canyon: 7

Lake Hughes: 4

Saugus/Canyon Country: 2

*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 Newhall Hospital Monday Update

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital reported its 24th COVID-related death on Friday, September 25, according to spokesman Patrick Moody.

As of Friday, of the 8,149 people tested at Henry Mayo to date, 878 tested positive, 9,551 were negative, 13 were pending, 12 patients were hospitalized in a dedicated unit receiving ICU-level care, and a total of 255 COVID-19 patients have been discharged so far.

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.

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

No Surge After Labor Day Weekend

Three weeks after the Labor Day holiday weekend, L.A. County has not experienced a surge in cases similar to the one after the Memorial Day and July 4 holidays.

While we may still see increases in cases due to activities over the Labor Day Holiday, Public Health officials do not predict a similar surge.

COVID-19 Shows No Age Discrimination

People of all ages are at risk of being infected with COVID-19 and therefore at risk of becoming seriously ill.

People under the age of 65 continue to make up an increasing proportion of people hospitalized with COVID-19 with nearly 70% of patients recently hospitalized. People between the ages of 18 and 29 years old represent the most significant increase in hospitalizations and now comprise over 10% of people who are hospitalized.

A Good Time to Quit Smoking and Vaping

Public Health highlights smoking as a risk factor for serious illness from COVID-19 because smoking harms every system in the body and causes both cardiovascular disease and pulmonary disease.

People who smoke are two to four times more likely to become seriously ill from COVID-19 (i.e. requiring hospitalization, being admitted to the ICU, needing mechanical ventilation, and dying) when compared to those who did not smoke.

For those who are smoking or vaping, there are services available to help you quit. If you need help with quitting, you can reach out to the California Smokers’ Helpline at 1-800-NO-BUTTS or visit LAQuits.com.

Get Flu Shot Now

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues and flu season approaches, Public Health encourages everyone to protect themselves from the flu by getting the flu immunization. Everyone 6 months and older should be immunized against the flu.

It is highly likely that both flu and COVID-19 will be present in L.A. County this year.

It’s important to note that in the past, when we have experienced a severe flu season, L.A. County health care providers have sometimes reached capacity and needed to implement contingency plans to accommodate more patients, particularly at urgent care centers and emergency rooms.

Getting immunized is important because it is safe and provides protection against the harmful effects of influenza; flu immunizations help keep people out of the hospital which will conserve hospital resources that could become strained with both influenza and COVID-19 circulating at the same time.

You can get the flu immunization from your regular health care provider or local pharmacy. Flu immunizations are also provided at no-cost or low-cost at various locations throughout the County. For more information on where you can get immunized for the flu, visit www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

Underlying Health Conditions

Public Health estimates as many as 20% to 30% of L.A. County residents, across all age groups, have an underlying health condition that puts them at higher risk for serious disease from COVID-19.

Ninety-two percent of the people who died from COVID-19 had underlying health conditions.

Hypertension and diabetes are the most common underlying health conditions among people who died from COVID-19. Neurologic conditions, cardiovascular disease and chronic renal disease are also common.

Of the deaths reported by Public Health, 3,705 people had hypertension, 2,727 people had diabetes, 1,498 people had cardiovascular disease, 1,097 had chronic renal disease, and 1,025 people had neurologic conditions.

Please note, each person may have multiple conditions.

More L.A. County Demographics: Age

Monday’s reported COVID-19 death occurred in a person between the ages of 65 and 79 years old who did not have underlying health conditions.

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 4246

* 5 to 11 9205

* 12 to 17 11381

* 18 to 29 63163

* 30 to 49 87001

* 50 to 64 49055

* 65 to 79 19458

* over 80 9056

* Under Investigation 1528

More L.A. County Demographics: Race/Ethnicity

Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 6,131 people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health); 51% of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 23% 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 14,484,852 tests conducted in California, an increase of 151,354 over the prior 24-hour reporting period.

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 September 13 to September 19, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.2 days. During this same time period, 69 percent of patients received test results in 1 day and 90 percent received them within two days. The testing turnaround time dashboard (PDF) is updated weekly.

As of September 22, California’s testing capacity and turnaround time have improved. As a result and until further notice, all four tiers in the Testing Prioritization Guidance originally dated July 14, 2020, will have equal priority for testing.

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 September 21, there have been 88 cases of MIS-C reported statewide.

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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The story has been revised to correct the number of SCV cases reported.