Officials from Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital on Monday announced the 168th death from COVID-19, spokesman Patrick Moody confirmed.

Just last week, Moody urged those eligible to get vaccinated as the hospital was experiencing an uptick in COVID-19 patients.

“Our COVID-19 patient census has increased 50% in a week,” Moody said last Thursday. “We continue to strongly encourage all who are eligible to get vaccinated. According to the CDC, vaccination is the best way to stay out of the hospital.”

Currently, there are zero tests pending, 23 patients in the hospital, a total of 1,517 patients who have been treated and discharged since the pandemic began.

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

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Monday five new deaths and 986 new cases of COVID-19 countywide, with 35,692 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

The number of cases and deaths reflect reporting delays over the weekend. Of the five new deaths reported Monday, one person who passed away was over the age of 80, three people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, and one person who died was between the ages of 50 and 64.

To date, Public Health identified 1,455,155 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 26,018 deaths.

There are 907 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized, a decrease of 146 people over the past week and 311 people over the past two weeks.

Testing results are available for nearly 8,590,000 individuals with 16% of people testing positive. Monday’s test positivity rate is 1.1%.

Throughout the county, state and country, many settings now require proof of COVID-19 vaccination; in addition to the white vaccination card, or a photo of the white card, the Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record serves as proof of vaccination. This digital vaccination record can be easily downloaded by going to https://myvaccinerecord.cdph.ca.gov/.

Beginning Friday, Oct. 1, vaccination providers are required by the State to request patients’ email addresses and mobile phone numbers for the State’s Immunization Registry.

This information is needed to enable residents to easily access their Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record after the vaccine has been administered. When healthcare providers report COVID-19 vaccination information without the vaccine recipient’s mobile phone number or email address, the vaccine recipient is not able to access their Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record in a timely fashion and must often go through a time-consuming reconciliation process with the California Department of Public Health.

Please note that while providers will be required to request individuals’ mobile phone numbers or e-mail addresses, individuals are not required to provide this information when requested and will still be able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and the white vaccination card, if they decline to provide the information.

**More from Los Angeles County Public Health further below**

William S. Hart Union High School District COVID-19 Dashboard

The William S. Hart Union High School District provides ongoing information to our community regarding COVID-19 cases while maintaining confidentiality for our students and staff. The COVID-19 case data below is updated regularly to indicate any currently confirmed COVID-19 positive case in staff members or students by school site. The data below is specific to individuals who have been physically present on a District campus within 14 days of receiving a positive COVID-19 test. The District, in conjunction with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, conducts contact tracing and directly notifies and provides resources for parents of students identified as close contacts (6 feet or less for 15 cumulative minutes or more).

Note: To see the communication process in the event of a positive COVID-19 case, visit https://www.hartdistrict.org/apps/pages/covid-19dashboard.

Student Dashboard:

Student Dashboard: The COVID-19 case data is updated regularly to indicate any currently confirmed COVID-19 positive cases in students by school site.

Staff Dashboard

Staff Dashboard: The COVID-19 case data is updated regularly to indicate any currently confirmed COVID-19 positive cases in staff by school site.

Santa Clarita Valley Monday Update
As of 5:00 p.m. Monday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard recorded an additional death each in the city of Santa Clarita and Stevenson Ranch, bringing the total of COVID-19 deaths in the Santa Clarita Valley to 333.

The following is the community breakdown of the 333 SCV residents who have died, according to the L.A. County dashboard:

280 in Santa Clarita

20 in Castaic

9 in Acton

8 in Stevenson Ranch

6 in unincorporated Canyon Country

3 in Agua Dulce

2 in Val Verde

1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon

1 in Elizabeth Lake

1 in Newhall

1 in unincorporated Saugus/Canyon Country

1 in Valencia

0 in Lake Hughes (**revised from 1)

SCV Cases

Of the 35,692 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 26,229

* Castaic: 4,362

Stevenson Ranch: 1,637

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 1,118

Acton: 731

Val Verde: 415

Agua Dulce: 388

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 266

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 161

Elizabeth Lake: 107

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 70

Bouquet Canyon: 63

Lake Hughes: 54

Saugus/Canyon Country: 47

Sand Canyon: 22

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 18

Placerita Canyon: 4

*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

“To everyone who has lost a loved one or a friend to COVID-19, I send my deepest condolences,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “While the science about the virus continues to advance, there should be no confusion about the effectiveness of the vaccines at moving us more quickly to low rates of community transmission. For those whose work includes supporting our most vulnerable – those who are sick or facing an emergency or needing help or cannot be vaccinated – we ask that you do your part and comply with vaccination requirements. This pandemic has made it clear that individual decisions have an enormous impact on our collective well-being. While it is easy to cast safety measures and vaccination requirements as a curtailment of individual freedoms, it is perhaps more useful to view these as sensible actions that allow us to protect each other from a virus that destroys lives and livelihoods.”

Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status. Anyone 12 and older living or working in L.A. County can get vaccinated. Boosters are available for eligible individuals at all sites offering the Pfizer vaccine. Appointments are not needed at all Public Health vaccination sites where first, second, and third doses are available.

Los Angeles County residents eligible for a booster dose of Pfizer include the following groups of people who received the second of the two-dose Pfizer vaccine series at least 6 months ago and are either:

– People aged 65 years or older

– Residents of long-term care facilities

– People aged 18 to 64 years with underlying medical conditions

– People aged 18 to 64 years with high institutional or occupational risk, including healthcare workers, first responders, teachers and day care staff, grocery workers, and workers in homeless shelters or prisons, among others.

Eligible residents who completed their two-dose Pfizer vaccine series at least six months ago can make an appointment for their boosters by using the MyTurn system or by making an appointment at a pharmacy or clinic that offers Pfizer vaccinations.

To find a vaccination site near you, to make an appointment at vaccination sites, and much more, Visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish) If you don’t have internet access, can’t use a computer, or you’re over 65, you can call 1-833-540-0473 for help finding an appointment or scheduling a home-visit if you are homebound. Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status.

County Reopening Protocols, COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard, COVID-19 Surveillance Interactive Dashboard, Roadmap to Recovery, Recovery Dashboard, and additional actions you can take to protect yourself, your family and your community are on the Public Health website, www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

California Monday

New Public Health Officer Order: Digital Vaccine Records

CDPH has posted a public health order requiring COVID-19 vaccination providers to request patients’ email addresses and mobile phone numbers for the state’s immunization registry. This information allows My Vaccine Record to generate and send a secure link to individuals requesting their digital vaccination records to replace lost or unavailable records or provide a portable and reliable vaccine verification. Without this information, vaccine recipients are not able to quickly access their digital vaccine records.

California Department of Public Health confirmed Monday 4,471,635 cases and 68,362 deaths to date. There are 5,364 confirmed hospitalizations and 1,551 ICU hospitalizations in the state.

Numbers may not represent true day-over-day change as reporting of test results can be delayed. There were 22,969 newly reported confirmed cases Friday through Sunday. Data on cases, deaths, and testing is not reported on weekends or state holidays.

Cases are occurring largely among unvaccinated populations. See the data for vaccinated and unvaccinated cases.

– For the week of Sept. 5 – Sept. 11, the average case rate among unvaccinated Californians age 16 or older is 62.83 per 100,000 per day and the average case rate among vaccinated Californians age 16 or older is significantly lower at 7.95 per 100,000 per day.

– The great majority of new cases are among unvaccinated individuals. The rate among the unvaccinated is 8 times the rate among the vaccinated.

The 7-day positivity rate is 2.6%.

There have been 91,654,152 tests conducted in California.

This represents an increase of 1,178,025 during the prior 72-hour reporting period.

As of Sept. 26, according to the CDC, 83.7% of eligible Californians have received at least one dose. Providers have reported to CDPH that a total of 49,116,036 vaccine doses have been administered statewide. Numbers do not represent true day-to-day change as reporting may be delayed. For more vaccination data, visit the COVID-19 Vaccine Data Dashboard.

Health Care Workers

As of Sept. 26, local health departments have reported 124,820 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 501 deaths statewide.

Stop the Spread: Get Vaccinated for COVID-19

The risk for COVID-19 exposure and infection continues as a number of Californians remain unvaccinated. With the emergence of the more transmissible Delta variant, there is a renewed urgency to get all eligible Californians vaccinated as quickly as possible and complete their two-dose vaccination process if they are receiving Pfizer or Moderna.

CDPH is reminding unvaccinated Californians that the COVID-19 vaccine is safe, free and provides excellent protection from severe COVID-19 illness, including the Delta variant, hospitalization, and death.

Individuals aged 12+ are eligible for vaccination. Visit myturn.ca.gov to make an appointment. Individuals aged 17 and younger may need the consent of a parent or legal guardian for vaccination. Visit Vaccinate All 58 to learn more about the safe and effective vaccines available.

Testing Turnaround Time

The testing turnaround time dashboard reports how long California patients are waiting for COVID-19 test results. During the week of Sept. 12 to Sept. 18, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.2 days. During this same time period, 72% of patients received test results in one day and 91% received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

As of Sept. 20, there have been 610 cases of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) reported statewide. 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.

Keep California Healthy
Protect yourself, family, friends and your community by following these prevention measures:

– Get vaccinated when it’s your turn. Californians age 16+ are eligible to make an appointment.

– If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 (fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle or body aches), call your health care provider.

– If you believe you have been exposed, get tested. Free, confidential testing is available statewide.

– Keep gatherings small and outdoors and follow state and local public health guidance.

– Wear a mask and get the most out of masking – an effective mask has both good fit and good filtration.

– Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

– Delay non-essential travel outside of California until you are fully vaccinated. Follow California’s travel advisory.

– Avoid close contact with people who are sick and stay home from work and school if you feel ill.

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

– Answer the call or text if a contact tracer from the CA COVID Team or your local health department tries to connect.

Additional data and udpates:

Tracking COVID-19 in California

State Dashboard – Daily COVID-19 data

County Map – Local data, including tier status and ICU capacity

Data and Tools – Models and dashboards for researchers, scientists, and the public

Blueprint for a Safer Economy– Data for establishing tier status

COVID-19 Race & Ethnicity Data – Weekly updated Race & Ethnicity data

Cases and Deaths by Age Group – Weekly updated Deaths by Age Group data

Health Equity Dashboard – See how COVID-19 highlights existing inequities in health

Tracking Variants – Data on the variants California is currently monitoring

Safe Schools for All Hub – Information about safe in-person instruction

School Districts Reopening Map – data on public schools and reported outbreaks

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.

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.

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.