L.A. County Public Health officials expressed “cautious optimism” on Monday, confirming 12 new deaths and 1,634 new cases of COVID-19, with 4,465 cases confirmed to date in the Santa Clarita Valley, including 2,228 in the city of Santa Clarita.

“Simply put, closing the bars worked,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health, in her Monday COVID-19 briefing.

Countywide, 1,784 people are hospitalized with confirmed cases of COVID-19, 30% of them in the ICU, and 18% of them on ventilators.

To date, Public Health has identified 193,788 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of the county, and a total of 4,701 deaths, including 48 fatalities in the SCV.

“Every death that we report represents a family that is experiencing sadness and grief of losing a loved one to COVID-19,” Ferrer said. “Please know that our thoughts and prayers are with you every day.”

Test results are available for nearly 1,804,698 L.A. County residents, with 10% of all people testing positive.

SCV Testing
Appointments are available this week at College of the Canyons, 26455 Rockwell Canyon Rd., Santa Clarita 91355, according to Public Health. Visit https://covid19.lacounty.gov/testing/ or https://coronavirus.lacity.org/testing to make an appointment.

California Snapshot
Statewide, the California Department of Public Health on Monday confirmed a total of 514,901 cases (up 5,739), with 9,388 deaths from the disease (up 32). There are 6,383 confirmed hospitalizations and 1,909 ICU hospitalizations in California as of Sunday, August 2.

As Sunday, local health departments have reported 24,420 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 128 deaths statewide.

California’s positivity rate – a key indicator of community spread – is trending upward in the 14-day average. Hospitalization rates are also trending upward in the 14-day average.

Numbers may not represent true day-over-day change as reporting of test results can be delayed, and the 7-day average more accurately describes trends in number of cases. The 7-day average number of new cases is 7,764 per day, down from the 7-day average from the week prior, 9,859.

COVID Around the World
Worldwide, more than 18.1 million people have been infected by COVID-19 while 691,111 have died as of 2:34 Monday afternoon, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

More than 4.7 million 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 155,000.

Santa Clarita Valley Monday Update
According to the latest L.A. County Public Health COVID-19 data dashboard update at 8 p.m. Saturday, August 1, of the 48 SCV residents who have died of the virus since the pandemic began, 35 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, 1 in unincorporated Valencia and 2 in communities not yet named.

Of the 4,465 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 2,228

Castaic: 1,858 (includes Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility*)

Stevenson Ranch: 120

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 82

Acton: 45

Val Verde: 44

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 35

Agua Dulce: 20

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 14

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 6

Elizabeth Lake: 5

Sand Canyon: 5

Bouquet Canyon: 1

Lake Hughes: 1

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 Hospital reported its 19th and 20th COVID-related deaths on Saturday, August 1, according to Patrick Moody, hospital spokesman. Due to privacy constraints, the hospital does not disclose patients’ cities of residence.

The hospital is now releasing statistics on a weekly basis (Wednesdays) unless there is a drastic change in the number of cases or a COVID-related death has been confirmed.

As of Saturday, of the 5,403 people tested at Henry Mayo to date, 664 tested positive, 5,927 were negative, 177 were pending, 18 patients were hospitalized in a dedicated unit receiving ICU-level care, a total of 191 COVID-19 patients have been discharged so far, with the two additional deceased bringing the total to 20, Moody confirmed.

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

‘Cautious Optimism’ Spread Slowing, Indicators Stabilizing
L.A. County Public Health officials expressed cautious optimism Monday that community spread of COVID-19 has slowed and that other key indicators are stabilizing.

“The key indicators that we closely monitor at Public Health are looking positive, and I want to give credit to a large number of our county residents who heeded our orders and took the personal, basic actions needed to slow this virus,” said Public Health’s Barbara Ferrer.

The positive trends can be attributed to a variety of things, including the decreased opportunities for transmission, particularly in high-risk settings. Several weeks ago, bars were closed, and the indoor operations of a variety of businesses and institutions were moved outdoors.

“Folks wore their face coverings, they maintained physical distance from people they don’t live with, avoided gatherings and parties, and washed their hands,” Ferrer said. “But for our long-term success, we need to continue limiting the spread of COVID-19. We can’t simply go back to life as we knew it before March. We unfortunately still have a long way to go; we must remain vigilant.”

Monday’s 7-day average of cases is around 2,600 cases per day. This is down from a couple of weeks ago when the county was seeing more than 3,000 cases per day.

The 7-day positivity rate has remained mostly flat over the month of July, hovering between 8 and 8.8 percent. And finally, hospitalizations, a key indicator of health system capacity, are on a positive trend with 2,000 hospitalizations on average. This number had ticked up to 2,200 in the middle of July.

Although all of these key indicators are still too high, the plateauing of the trends is encouraging, Ferrer said.

Health officials reported a jump in infections after the Memorial Day weekend as more sectors of the economy were reopened, including bars, indoor dining and other social spots. That gave people a false sense of security, she said.

“We need to understand we are in fact creating a new normal. We can’t go back to life as we knew it, before March, not right now,” Ferrer said. “A few months ago when we collectively and successfully flattened the curve and we reopened many of our key businesses and community sectors, a lot of us decided that meant we can resume life as we knew it before the pandemic hit. We simply can’t do this again.”

L.A. County Demographics
Since May, the majority of cases have occurred among people between the ages of 18 and 49 years old. People between the ages of 30 and 49 years old account for the largest proportion of cases and roughly the same proportion of cases as seen since May. Other age groups are flat or decreasing slightly.

Of the 11 new deaths reported Monday (excluding Long Beach and Pasadena), two people who died were over the age of 80, four people who died were between 65 and 79 years old, three people who died were between 50 and 64 years old and two people who died were between 30 and 49 years old.

Six deaths were reported by the city of Long Beach and one death was reported by the city of Pasadena.

Upon further investigation, 13 cases and three deaths reported earlier were not L.A. County residents.

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

Eight people had underlying health conditions including two people over the age of 80 years old, two people between 65 and 79 years old, two people between 50 and 64 years old and two people between 30 and 49 years old.

Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 4,407 people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health); 48% of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 25% among White residents, 15% among Asian residents, 11% among African American/Black residents, less than 1% among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander residents and 1% among residents identifying with other races.

Public Health has a dedicated call line for confirmed cases of COVID-19. If you are positive for COVID-19 and have not yet connected with a public health specialist or need more information on services, call toll-free at 1-833-540-0473. Residents who do not have COVID-19 should continue to call 211 for resources or more information.

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.

Note on California Hospitalization Numbers
Since July 23, hospitalization numbers have reflected a change in reporting requirements that were implemented by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The change resulted in historical data from eight non-reporting facilities not being part of recent updates, resulting in lower numbers. This data will be added back in as soon as it is available.

A total of California 38 counties including Los Angeles and Ventura are required to close indoor operations for certain sectors based on the July 13 order to slow community transmission.

See the complete list of counties here.

California Testing
There have been 8,184,696 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 148,721 over the prior 24-hour reporting period.

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

The California Department of Public Health 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 July 28, 25 cases of MIS-C have been reported statewide.

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
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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Here’s the L.A. County incident report for Monday, August 3, 2020:

[Open .pdf in new window]

Courthouse News Service contributed to this story.