Los Angeles County Public Health officials on Monday confirmed 1 new death and 366 new cases of COVID-19 countywide, as the county officially moved into the state’s Orange Tier and eased more restrictions.

The lower number of deaths and cases reflect reporting delays over the weekend.

Since the pandemic began, L.A. County Public Health has identified 1,222,447 positive cases of COVID-19 and a total of 23,276 deaths countywide, with 27,366 cases (82 more than Friday) and 297 deaths in the Santa Clarita Valley.

Monday’s reported COVID-19 death occurred in a person between the ages of 50 and 64 years old.

“We extend our deepest condolences to the friends and families who are living through the tragedy of losing a loved one. We are sending our love and prayers during your time of grief,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health.

Three months ago, there were 14,200 daily cases. Since then, L.A. County daily cases have dropped 97%, to fewer than 400 in late March.

During the same time period, daily hospitalizations fell 92%, from more than 8,000 daily hospitalizations to 650 daily hospitalizations, and the number of daily deaths dropped 96%, from 252 daily deaths to just 9 daily deaths.

“I want to commend everyone for the tremendous progress we have seen over the last two months,” Ferrer said. “Cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are down to numbers we have not seen since the early days of the pandemic, and we are now officially in the orange tier, meaning more businesses and activities are open.

“With more variants, increases in cases across the country and much of the world, and lots more intermingling here in L.A. County, we will need to continue following public health safety measures if we want to hold on to our gains,” she said.

“So it makes sense to be clear about what it will take to continue the recovery journey and to remain committed to following the essential safety measures: Wear a mask. Stay 6-feet apart from others while in public. Wash your hands. And please, get vaccinated when you’re eligible.”

Testing results are available for nearly 6,137,000 individuals with 18% of people testing positive. Monday’s daily test positivity rate is 1.5%.

See more L.A. County information and a vaccine update later in this report.

California Monday Snapshot

Statewide, as of Friday, April 2, the most recent statistics available due to the Easter-Passover holidays, California Department of Public Health officials confirmed 3,577,951 COVID-19 cases (up 4,877) with 58,404 deaths from the disease (up 135) since the pandemic began.

Monday’s numbers also include some tests and cases that were reported during the past two weeks but not counted due to a delay in data processing.

As of April 2, local health departments have reported 102,992 confirmed positive cases in healthcare workers and 444 deaths statewide.

There are 2,054 people in hospitals statewide undergoing treatment for COVID-19, with 538 people in the ICU.

There have been 54,895,447 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 341,529 during the prior 24-hour reporting period.

The 7-day test positivity rate is 1.8%.

As of April 3, providers have reported administering a total of 19,368,672 vaccine doses statewide.

The CDC reports that 24,530,300 doses have been delivered to entities within the state.

Numbers do not represent true day-to-day change as reporting may be delayed.

The CDPH has also updated the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy reopening framework allowing additional activities to resume with modifications to reduce risk.

The updates include gatherings, private events or meetings such as receptions or conferences, and indoor seated live events and performances. The state updates take effect April 15.

See more California information later in this report.

Screencap from the Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering COVID-19 dashboard, showing COVID cases in the United States as of Monday afternoon, April 5, 2021.

U.S. Deaths Surpass 555,000 People

Worldwide, 131,612,552 people have been infected by COVID-19 while 2,856,790 people have died of the virus since the pandemic began, as of 3:20 p.m. Monday Pacific Time, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

In the U.S., where Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials continue to warn that a fourth wave of infections, hospitalizations, and deaths appears to be mounting as COVID-19 cases rise in two dozen states, more than 30,774,435 Americans have been diagnosed with COVID-19. The number of people in the U.S. who have died due to the virus has now surpassed 555,377.

With 4.25% of the world’s population (328.2 million) and more than 20% of the confirmed COVID-19 cases, the U.S. also continues to lead the world in deaths.

By comparison, Brazil (population 209.5 million) is No. 2 in cases with 13,013,601 and No. 2 in deaths with 331,433 — almost half of the U.S. total. India (population 1.353 billion) is No. 3 in cases with 12,589,067 confirmed infections and No. 4 in deaths with 165,101, behind No. 3 Mexico’s 204,147 deaths, as of Monday afternoon.

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital Monday Update

As of Monday, there were no cases pending, five patients were hospitalized in a dedicated COVID-19 unit receiving ICU-level care, and a total of 1,194 patients had been treated and discharged since the pandemic began, said Patrick Moody, spokesman for Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital.

There were no additional deaths, keeping the total deaths at 147 people to date.

Privacy laws prohibit Henry Mayo from releasing the community of residence for patients who die at the hospital; residence info is reported by the L.A. County Public Health COVID-19 dashboard.

Santa Clarita Valley Monday Update

As of 6 p.m. Sunday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard recorded 297 deaths among Santa Clarita Valley residents since the pandemic began, adjusted down by three since Friday.

The following is the community breakdown of the 297 SCV residents who have died, according to the dashboard:

* 256 lived in Santa Clarita (adjusted from 258 on Friday)

* 17 in Castaic

* 6 in Acton

* 5 in Stevenson Ranch

* 3 in Agua Dulce

(adjusted from 4 on Friday)

* 3 in unincorporated Canyon Country

* 1 in Valencia

* 1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon

* 1 in Elizabeth Lake

* 1 in Lake Hughes

* 1 in Newhall

* 1 in unincorporated Saugus/Canyon Country

* 1 in Val Verde

Of the 27,366 confirmed COVID-19 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

* City of Santa Clarita: 20,035

* Castaic: 3,690 (incl. Pitchess Detention Center & North County Correctional Facility*)

* Stevenson Ranch: 1,123

* Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 829

* Acton: 463

* Val Verde: 335

* Agua Dulce: 273

* Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 187

* Saugus (unincorporated portion): 128

* Elizabeth Lake: 76

* Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 68

* Bouquet Canyon: 47

* Lake Hughes: 41

* Saugus/Canyon Country: 38

* Sand Canyon: 17

* San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 15

* Placerita Canyon: 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.

L.A. County Demographics — Cases by Age Group (excluding Long Beach and Pasadena)

* 0 to 4: 28894

* 5 to 11: 55132

* 12 to 17: 69106

* 18 to 29: 274068

* 30 to 49: 385413

* 50 to 64: 223963

* 65 to 79: 89238

* over 80: 32494

* Under Investigation 694

L.A. County Travel Advisory Update

Late last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidance related to travelers who have been fully vaccinated. Effective Mondayday, Los Angeles County updated its travel advisory.

The CDC and L.A. County continue to urge that everyone avoid non-essential travel during this time when there are significant hot spots across the country and the world and significant risk from more infectious variants.

Travel is associated with additional risks. Travelers who are fully vaccinated, meaning two weeks have passed after their second dose for Pfizer or Moderna, or after their single dose of Johnson & Johnson are, however, at lower risk and can now travel and will not be required to test or quarantine upon their arrival in Los Angeles County if they do not have any symptoms of illness.

Travelers who are not fully vaccinated must quarantine for seven full days after travel if they receive a negative COVID-19 test result taken three to five days after their arrival. If a traveler does not get tested after they arrive in Los Angeles County, they must quarantine for a full 10 days.

All travelers, regardless of their vaccination status, must self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days after their arrival and should get tested and isolate if they develop symptoms.

The COVID-19 vaccination supersite at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia on Friday, Feb. 12, 2021. | Photo: Stephen K. Peeples / SCVTV.

L.A. County Vaccine Update

Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status.

COVID-19 vaccine eligibility expanded April 1 to all residents 50 through 64 years old in addition to all other eligible groups. On April 15, vaccines become available to any resident in Los Angeles County 16 years of age and older.

While COVID-19 vaccine supply remains very limited, Public Health continues to build an extensive network with pharmacies, federally qualified health centers, hospitals, health clinics, and community vaccination sites, including seven large-capacity sites:

* Dodger Stadium (operated by the city of Los Angeles)

* Six Flags Magic Mountain, 26101 Magic Mountain Pkwy, Valencia 91355

* California State University, Northridge, 18111 Nordhoff St, Northridge 91330

* Pomona Fairplex, 1101 W McKinley Ave, Pomona 91768

* The Forum, 3900 W Manchester Blvd, Inglewood 90305

* L.A. County Office of Education, 12830 Columbia Way, Downey 90242

* California State University, Los Angeles, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles 90032 (operated by FEMA)

As of March 25, approximately 2,493,301 persons who reside in Los Angeles County (including Long Beach and Pasadena) have been vaccinated with at least 1 dose of vaccine since January 1, 2021. While the majority of the L.A. County population has not yet been vaccinated, the increasing rate of vaccination likely is beginning to reduce infections across the County.

This week, there are 397,430 total doses allocated to the county. The allocation for this week is higher than the 378,000 doses received last week, 54,000 of which were from Johnson & Johnson.

This week, the county received 118,100 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The Johnson & Johnson vaccines are distributed among many sites across the county including hospitals, county large capacity sites, city of L.A. sites, mobile sites, and pharmacies.

Unfortunately, L.A. County is still not receiving enough doses. Sites across the county currently have the ability to administer nearly 700,000 doses. Public Health officials expect allocations to the county to increase in the coming weeks.

Focus on Hard-Hit Communities

Public Health officials remain focused on improving the administration of doses in hard-hit communities and are prioritizing allocations of doses to providers vaccinating residents in these communities.

In total, of the 566 vaccination sites across the county this week, 266 are located in hard-hit communities. Mobile vaccine teams are deploying to hard-hit communities, with a priority of vaccinating residents 65 and older.

There are 107 mobile vaccination teams scheduled to administer vaccinations this week at senior housing sites, senior centers, faith-based organizations, and community-based organizations.

School Vaccination Update

As of April 2, 1,827 schools are providing on-campus services for high-needs students. This includes more than 110,000 students and over 38,000 staff. As of Monday, 44 public school districts and 334 private and charter schools are open in Los Angeles County. Another 20 districts and 118 private and charter schools are scheduled to open between now and April 26, including LAUSD.

More than 1,500 school site visits have been conducted across L.A. County. Under the current Health Officer Order, schools and school districts are permitted to reopen whenever they are prepared to be fully compliant with L.A. County and State directives, and Public Health will continue providing technical assistance or guidance as needed.

Outbreaks at schools are extremely rare in L.A. County. There have been 87 K-12 school-affiliated outbreaks since Sept 1, 2020, with only one new outbreak over the last 8 weeks. This is a significant decline from what we saw during the surge, where there were more than 50 outbreaks in the month of December alone.

Students complete assignments during their small cohort classes at Live Oak Elementary School as pictured on Feb. 2, 2021. | Photo: Courtesy Castaic Union School District.

It is important to remember that cases recorded for schools do not necessarily happen in the school setting. In many cases, there is information that these people acquired their case from transmission outside of the school setting, such as a community or family setting.

School staff has been eligible to be vaccinated since March 1. Many partners including school districts, schools, providers, unions, and health care providers have worked together to vaccinate these essential workers. School staff can get vaccinated through pharmacies, County or City PODs, LAUSD education-specific sites, and district-health facility partnerships.

To date, 239,090 vaccine doses have been allocated to teachers and staff as of last week in K through 12 public and independent schools. According to weekly surveys sent to school districts from the Los Angeles County Office of Education, every teacher who wanted a vaccine has been offered a vaccine, which is a significant achievement in a little over 4 weeks.

Public Health, in partnership with Los Angeles County school districts, is supporting the Public Health Ambassador Program for students and parents. This partnership with Los Angeles County school districts actively engages members of school communities in preventing and reducing the spread of COVID-19 by empowering students and parents as essential partners in each school’s prevention effort.

More than 100 parents have participated in zoom group discussions to date, and promotoras continue providing individual education to hundreds of parents each week and have shared information with 3,464 parents to date.

One hundred and forty-four students across 32 schools continue meeting every week to receive training about the safety measures needed to protect themselves and their families and are currently developing scripts for educational videos that will be used at elementary, middle, and high school levels.

For information about who is eligible for COVID-19 vaccine in L.A. County, how to make an appointment if it is your turn, what verifications you will need to show at your vaccination appointment, and much more, visit www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish).

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.

All counties are now under the rules and framework of the Blueprint for a Safer Economy and color-coded tiers that indicate which activities and businesses are open based on local case rates and test positivity.

The California Department of Public Health modified Blueprint thresholds on March 12 after the state successfully met its first vaccine equity milestone of 2 million administered vaccine doses in some of the state’s hardest-hit communities.

Blueprint tiers are updated weekly on Tuesdays. The Blueprint summary as of March 30:

* 3 counties are currently in the Purple (widespread) Tier

* 36 counties are currently in the Red (substantial) Tier

* 17 counties are currently in the Orange (moderate) Tier (including Los Angeles County)

* 2 counties are in the Yellow (minimal) Tier

As of April 1, the state’s reopening framework allowed outdoor ballparks, stadiums, and theme parks to open with significantly reduced capacity, mandatory masking, and other public health precautions.

Find the status of activities in specific counties.

Vaccinate All 58
In order to increase the pace of COVID-19 vaccine distribution to those at greatest risk, the state is prioritizing individuals 65 and older to receive the vaccine as demand subsides among health care workers. This effort will help to reduce hospitalizations and save lives.

To sign up for a notification when you’re eligible for a vaccine, visit myturn.ca.gov.

For more information on the vaccine effort, visit the Vaccinate All 58 webpage.

Tracking Variants

Multiple variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 have been identified globally during the COVID-19 pandemic.

These genetic mutations are expected, and some emerge and then disappear, while others persist or become common. Most variants do not have a meaningful impact.

Public health becomes concerned about a variant when it affects COVID-19 transmission, severity, testing, treatment, or vaccine effectiveness.

Get more information here on the variants CDPH is currently monitoring.

‘Safe Schools for All’ Plan
Governor Newsom launched the Safe Schools for All Hub as a one-stop-shop for information about safe in-person instruction.

For more information on the transparency, accountability, and assistance measures related to California’s Safe Schools for All plan, visit the hub.

Travel Advisory Updated

California Public Health California updated its travel advisory on April 2, removing the previous recommendation that Californians not travel more than 120 miles from ones’ place of residence.

Postponing travel and staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from COVID-19, and Californians should continue to avoid non-essential travel outside of the state.

Non-essential travelers from other states or countries are strongly discouraged from entering California and should follow CDC travel guidance related to testing and self-quarantine.

Non-essential travelers from other states or countries are strongly discouraged from entering California and should adhere to the state’s self-quarantine procedures for 10 days.

California Demographics: Health Equity Dashboard

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted existing inequities in health that are the result of structural racism and poverty, and the disproportionate prevalence of underlying conditions such as asthma and heart disease among Latinos and African Americans.

As part of its commitment to reduce health inequities and ensure the best outcomes for all Californians, the state has launched a Health Equity Dashboard on www.covid19.ca.gov/equity/ that tracks California’s health equity measure and data by race and ethnicity, age group, and sexual orientation/gender identity.

California Testing & Turnaround Time
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 March 21 to March 27, the average time patients waited for test results was just under one day. During this same time period, 83% of patients received test results in one day and 98% received them within two days. The testing turnaround time dashboard (PDF) is updated weekly.

All four tiers in the Testing Prioritization Guidance originally dated July 14, 2020, have equal priority for testing.

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 March 29, 443 cases of MIS-C have been reported statewide. To protect patient confidentiality in counties with fewer than 11 cases, CDPH officials 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: Your Actions Save Lives

Protect yourself, family, friends, and community by following these prevention measures:

* 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.

* Avoiding non-essential travel, and practicing self-quarantine for 14 days after arrival if you leave the state.

* Keeping interactions limited to people who live in your household.

* 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.

* Getting tested if you believe you’ve been exposed. Free, confidential testing is available statewide.

* Getting vaccinated when it’s your turn.

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

* Answering the call if a contact tracer from the CA COVID Team or local health department tries to connect.

* 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 healthcare provider before seeking medical care so that appropriate precautions can be taken.

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, 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.

* * * * *

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.

* * * * *