Continuing to see alarming trends of community spread, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health on Monday confirmed 2,903 new cases of COVID-19 — the largest one-day case count since the pandemic began — and 22 new deaths due to the virus countywide.

A total of 3,136 confirmed COVID-19 cases have been reported in the Santa Clarita Valley since the pandemic began, 54 more cases than reported Sunday.

The SCV total includes 1,155 confirmed cases in the city of Santa Clarita.

To date, 31 SCV residents have died of the virus, according to Public Health records — 24 resided in the city of Santa Clarita, 2 in Acton, 2 in Castaic, 1 in Val Verde, 1 in unincorporated Valencia, and 1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon.

Countywide, Public Health has reported 100,772 positive cases of COVID-19 and a total of 3,326 deaths to date. Ninety-three percent of people who died had underlying health conditions.

Key metrics continue to show steep increases in community spread. The 7-day average of daily reported new cases of COVID-19 is nearly 2,000, an increase from the 1,379 average two weeks ago. There are 1,710 people currently hospitalized, higher than the 1,350 to 1,450 daily hospitalizations seen in recent weeks.

“To everyone who is grieving a family member or a friend who has passed away from COVID-19, our hearts go out to you. We are so sorry for your loss,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health.

“The alarming increases in cases, positivity rates and hospitalizations signals that we, as a community, need to take immediate action to slow the spread of COVID-19,” Ferrer said. “Otherwise, we are quickly moving toward overwhelming our healthcare system and seeing even more devastating illness and death. Businesses must closely adhere to directives.

“For individuals, we are all still safer at home, but if you must be out, practice physical distancing and wear a cloth face covering at all times when you are around others,” Ferrer said. “Our actions to slow the spread cannot wait – we need to do these actions now and for the weeks ahead in order to prevent even more serious illness and death.”

Statewide, as of June 28, the California Department of Public Health has confirmed a total of 216,550 cases (up 5,307 from June 27) and 5,936 deaths (up 31) from COVID-19.

Currently, there are 4,776 confirmed hospitalizations and 1,465 ICU hospitalizations in California. Numbers may not represent true day-over-day change as reporting of test results can be delayed.

Santa Clarita Valley Monday Update
Of the 3,136 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 1,155

Castaic: 1,786 (includes Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility*)

Stevenson Ranch: 59

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 45

Val Verde: 29

Acton: 22

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 13

Agua Dulce: 13

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 5

Elizabeth Lake: 4

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 3

Bouquet Canyon: 1

Lake Hughes: 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 13th COVID-related death on Wednesday, June 17, according to hospital spokesman Patrick Moody.

The hospital is now releasing numbers on a weekly basis (Wednesdays) unless there is a drastic change in the number of cases or a death has been confirmed, Moody said.

As of Wednesday, June 24, of the 2,725 persons tested at Henry Mayo to date, 282 tested positive, 2,766 were negative, 50 were pending and 13 patients were hospitalized in a dedicated unit receiving ICU-level care. A total of 99 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.

L.A. County Demographics: Age, Race & Ethnicity

Eighteen people who died were over the age of 65 years old and four people who died were between the ages of 41 and 65 years old. Eighteen people had underlying health conditions including 17 people over the age of 65 years old and one person between the ages of 41 to 65 years old.

Forty-two percent of cases are now among individuals between the ages of 18 and 40.

While cases in this age range typically have lower risk for serious illness or death, Public Health is concerned they may unknowingly infect parents, grandparents, and friends and family who have underlying health conditions and who are at greater risk for serious illness and death.

Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 3,093 people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health); 43% of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 27% among White residents, 17% 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.

Upon further investigation, 19 cases reported earlier were not L.A. County residents.

L.A. County Testing
More than 1 million people have been tested for COVID-19 in Los Angeles County. Testing results are available for more than 1,089,000 individuals with 9% of people testing positive. The cumulative positivity rate has increased from 8% to 9%, and the 7-day average of the daily positivity rate has increased from lowest daily rate of 4.6% positivity in late May to 8.4% Monday.

Best Protections
The best protection against COVID-19 continues to be to wash your hands frequently, avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, self-isolate if you are sick, practice physical distancing, and wear a clean face covering when in contact with others from outside your household.

Everyone must always wear a face covering securely over your nose and mouth and keep six feet apart from others not in your household when out and about. Businesses must continue to follow Public Health directives. It is the collective responsibility shared between everyone including businesses and residents to slow the spread of COVID-19 to prevent an overwhelming surge of COVID-19 cases at healthcare facilities and save lives.

The 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.

Here’s the L.A. County Incident Update for Monday, June 29:

[Open .pdf in new window]

California Demographics
California Public Health is committed to health equity and collecting more detailed racial and ethnic data that will provide additional understanding for determining future action.

Health outcomes are affected by forces including structural racism, poverty and the disproportionate prevalence of underlying conditions such as asthma and heart disease among Latinos and African American Californians. Only by looking at the full picture can we understand how to ensure the best outcomes for all Californians.

The differences in health outcomes related to COVID-19 are most stark in COVID-19 deaths. We have nearly complete data on race and ethnicity for COVID-19 deaths, and we are seeing the following trends. 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.

Testing in California
As testing capacity continues to increase across the state, the California Department of Public Health is working to expand access to COVID-19 testing. Testing should be used for medical evaluation of persons with symptoms of COVID-19 as well as for efforts by public health agencies and essential employers to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19.

As of June 28, there have been 4,061,692 tests conducted in California and reported to the California Department of Public Health. This represents an increase of 105,740 tests over the prior 24-hour reporting period.

These numbers include data from commercial, private and academic labs, including Quest, LabCorp, Kaiser, University of California and Stanford, and the the 25 state and county health labs currently testing.

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

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.

California COVID-19 Data Portal
The state has launched a new, user-friendly data portal at COVID-19 Statewide Update that tracks COVID-19 cases statewide and by county, gender, age and ethnicity. The portal also outlines statewide hospitalizations and testing efforts. The data presented on the portal will be updated daily and will include additional information as it is available.

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.

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.