Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital reported two additional deaths over the weekend, bringing the total number of deaths from COVID-19 to 197 since the onset of the pandemic, hospital spokesman Patrick Moody confirmed.

Currently, the hospital has two tests pending, 78 patients in the hospital, a total of 1,790 patients who have been treated and discharged since the pandemic began.

“We strongly encourage everyone to follow CDC guidelines to protect themselves and those around them,” Moody said.

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, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Monday 13 additional deaths and 43,582 new cases of COVID-19 countywide, with 52,836 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

Public Health reports another grim milestone as Los Angeles County has now confirmed more than 2 million total cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The current surge of COVID-19 infections also continues to drive up hospitalizations, as the number of COVID-positive patients in Los Angeles County hospitals Monday has topped 3,400, the highest level since Feb. 11, 2021.

The good news is that while hospitalizations continue to climb, Public Health data shows that many positive cases are admitted for reasons other than COVID but, are identified with COVID when tested for COVID upon hospital admission. These are referred to as incidental COVID hospitalizations. For the week ending December 26th, an estimated 55% of COVID-positive hospitalized patients fell into this category of incidental COVID hospitalizations.

Monday’s number of cases and deaths reflect the weekend reporting delays. Of the 13 new deaths reported Monday, one person was between the ages of 30 and 49, six were between the ages of 50-64, one was between the ages of 65-79, and five were over the age of 80 years old. Of the 13 newly reported deaths, nine had underlying conditions. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 27,798.

Public Health has identified a total 2,010,964 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Monday’s positivity rate is 21.4%.

There are 3,472 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 10,113,300 individuals, with 16% of people testing positive.

Currently 14% of the COVID-positive hospitalized patients are in the ICU, and 7% are on a ventilator. Additionally, 23% of ICU beds are currently being occupied by COVID-positive cases, an increase of 9% from last week. Between Dec. 15 and Dec. 28, the ICU admission rate for unvaccinated individuals was 21 times higher than the rate among fully vaccinated individuals.

The proportion of hospitalizations among children has not changed from the prior week. The 7-day average proportion of the new admissions among children under 18 years old remains at 4.1%; this is the same proportion as the week prior. The vast majority of the 38 children admitted to the hospital between Dec. 7 and Dec. 28 were unvaccinated; only six children were fully vaccinated.

While the total number of children hospitalized remains low and the proportion of hospitalizations among children remains stable, the number of children in each age group that were admitted to the hospital significantly increased over the past month. The largest rise was seen among children 0-4 years old, increasing from 4 hospital admissions for the week ending Dec. 4 to 58 hospital admissions for the week ending Jan. 1. Increases were also seen for the 12-to-17-year-old age group, from 1 hospital admission to 16 hospital admissions, and for the 5-to-11-year-old age group, from 2 hospital admissions to 5 hospital admissions, comparing the week ending Dec. 4 to the week ending Jan. 1.

“Our hearts remain with those families experiencing the sorrow of losing those they love to COVID-19,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “With surging transmission and rapidly rising cases and hospitalizations, our already understaffed health care providers are under enormous strain as they try to care for so many COVID infected people, including those with mild illness who are looking for help and support, with the unintended consequence of compromising response capacity across the entire system. Because high community transmission has the inevitable impact of increasing demand for health care services, the best way to protect health care personnel and our capacity to care for both those with COVID and non-COVID illness, is to double-down on reducing transmission.”

“While it is true that Omicron is much more infectious than previous COVID strains, there are many effective strategies available for reducing transmission risks over the next few weeks,” Ferrer continued. “At the top of the list is avoiding hazardous activities where people are unmasked and in close contact with others. Gatherings should also be postponed for a few weeks, especially if there are participants who are not fully vaccinated, and everyone cannot test before getting together. Lastly, upgrading masks to those that provide a better barrier against virus particles is a commonsense step that increases our own protection along with those around us.”

To keep workplaces and schools open, residents and workers are asked to:

– Get tested to help reduce the spread, especially if you traveled for the holidays, have had a possible exposure, or have symptoms, or are gathering with people not in your household

– Adhere to masking requirements when indoors or at crowded outdoor spaces, regardless of vaccination status

– Residents are legally required to be isolated if they have a positive COVID test result and vaccinated close contacts with symptoms and unvaccinated close contacts need to be quarantined.

For information on where you can get tested, please visit www.covid19.lacounty.gov/testing/.

For updated isolation and quarantine guidance, please visit www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective and are recommended for everyone 5 years old and older to help protect against COVID-19. Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status. Appointments are not needed at all Public Health vaccination sites and many community sites where first, second, and third doses are available.

To find a vaccination site near you, or to make an appointment, please visit:

www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) or

www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish).

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

Staff Dashboard

Santa Clarita Valley Monday Update
As of 5:00 p.m. Monday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard reported three additional deaths in the city of Santa Clarita, bringing the total of COVID-19 deaths to 379 to date.

The following is the community breakdown of the 379 SCV residents who have died, according to the L.A. County dashboard:

313 in Santa Clarita

23 in Castaic

13 in Acton

9 in Stevenson Ranch

7 in unincorporated Canyon Country

5 in Agua Dulce

3 in Val Verde

2 in Valencia

1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon

1 in Elizabeth Lake

1 in Newhall

1 in unincorporated Saugus/Canyon Country

0 in Lake Hughes (**revised from 1)

SCV Cases

Of the 52,836 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

Santa Clarita: 39,108

Castaic: 5,636

Stevenson Ranch: 2,834

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 1,794

Acton: 1,056

Val Verde: 584

Agua Dulce: 560

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 475

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 237

Elizabeth Lake: 147

Bouquet Canyon: 100

Lake Hughes: 97

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 74

Saugus/Canyon Country: 65

Sand Canyon: 34

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 27

Placerita Canyon: 8

*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.

California Monday

The California Department of Public Health released the following data Monday. The most up to date data is available on the state’s COVID-19 data dashboard.

Statewide COVID-19 Data

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

Vaccinations

– 66,364,468 total vaccines administered.

– 80.2% of the eligible population (5+) has been vaccinated with at least one dose.

– 160,399 people a day are receiving COVID-19 vaccination (average daily dose count over 7 days).

Cases

– California has 5,943,177 confirmed cases to date.

– Monday’s average case count is 56,810 (average daily case count over 7 days).

Testing

The testing positivity rate is 22.1% (average rate over 7 days).

Hospitalizations

(*Note: As of Jan. 5, 2022, hospitalized and ICU patients only reflect confirmed COVID-19 cases).

– There are 11,048* hospitalizations statewide.

– There are 1,710* ICU patients statewide.

– Unvaccinated people were 10.1 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 (data from Dec. 13, 2021 to Dec. 19, 2021).

Deaths
– There have been 76,550 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

– COVID-19 claims the lives of 47 Californians each day (average daily death count over 7 days).
Unvaccinated people were 16.6 times more likely to die from COVID-19 (data from Dec. 6, 2021 to Dec. 12, 2021).

Health Care Workers

As of Jan. 6, local health departments have reported 136,816 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 540 deaths statewide.

Testing Turnaround Time

The testing turnaround time dashboard reports how long California patients are waiting for COVID-19 test results. During the week of Dec. 25 to Jan. 1, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.2 days. During this same time period, 65% of patients received test results in one day and 92% received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

As of Jan. 3, there have been 779 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.