Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital reported two additional deaths from COVID-19 over the weekend, bringing the total number to 216 since the onset of the pandemic, spokesman Patrick Moody confirmed Monday.

Currently, the hospital has zero tests pending, 35 patients in the hospital, and a total of 2,102 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 29 additional deaths (29,457 to date) and 2,731,409 total cases to date countywide, with 70,359 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

Monday’s number of cases and deaths reflect the weekend reporting delays. Of the 29 new deaths reported today, four people were between the ages of 50-64, seven were between the ages of 65-79, and 18 were over the age of 80 years old. Of the 29 newly reported deaths, 23 had underlying health conditions. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 29,457.

Public Health has reported a total of 2,731,409 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Monday’s positivity rate is 5%.

There are 2,773 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 11,196,500 individuals, with 22% of people testing positive.

Unvaccinated Residents Twelve Times More Likely to Die from COVID-19 than Vaccinated Residents :

As the county continues to make steady progress decreasing transmission rates associated with the Omicron surge, the stark differences in COVID-19 outcomes between residents who are vaccinated and those who are not remain pronounced with unvaccinated residents significantly more likely to die from COVID-19 compared to vaccinated residents.

Through the week ending on January 15, unvaccinated residents were 12 times more likely to die when compared to vaccinated residents. These differences in COVID-19 mortality outcomes were magnified for older age groups. For residents older than 50, the risk of dying significantly increased among those individuals who were unvaccinated. The 30-day death rate for unvaccinated residents between the ages of 50-64 was more than 15 times higher compared to fully vaccinated residents. For individuals 65 and older, unvaccinated residents were 24 times more likely to die compared to vaccinated residents.

And among the very small number of vaccinated and boosted individuals who died, 52% had an immunocompromising medical condition as a comorbidity

While vaccination status played a substantial role in the likelihood of severe outcomes for COVID-19 illness, poverty was also associated with a significantly increased risk of dying.

According to recent Public Health data, residents living in low-resourced communities were more than twice as likely to die from Covid-19 related complications compared to residents who lived in affluent communities. Through February 4, the 14-day age-adjusted death rate in parts of the county where more than 30% of the population lived at, or below, the federal poverty line was nine deaths per 100,000 residents. This was more than two times higher than in affluent communities with less than 10% of residents living at, or below, the poverty line where the 14-day adjusted death rate was four deaths per 100,000 residents.

“Our hearts remain with those families experiencing the sorrow of losing a loved one to COVID-19,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Despite the encouraging news of declining cases, test positivity and hospitalizations, sadly we continue to see a high number of people dying due to COVID-19. With an average of 70 deaths reported each day last week, it remains clear that residents who are unvaccinated, immunocompromised, or living in low-resourced communities, face additional risk and are more likely to become seriously ill and die from COVID-19. Along with the significant protection provided by vaccines and boosters we will need to continue to layer on additional protections to protect those most vulnerable from the worst outcomes, many of which are our loved ones and colleagues. Numerous individuals living in hard hit communities are low wage workers whose face multiple exposures daily at their jobs and then return to high density communities where virus transmission is easier. Recognizing that these workers are the mainstay of our economy, and our recovery, requires aligning collective actions that reduce transmission at workplaces.” .”

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 5:30 p.m. Monday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard reports eight additional deaths from COVID-19 in the city of Santa Clarita and one additional death in Stevenson Ranch over the weekend, bringing the total number of COVID-19 deaths to date in the SCV to 412. Unincorporated Canyon Country’s number was revised from 10 deaths down to nine.

The following is the community breakdown per L.A. County’s dashboard:

Santa Clarita: 336

Castaic: 27

Acton: 15

Unincorporated Canyon Country: 9 (revised from 10)

Stevenson Ranch: 10

Agua Dulce: 5

Val Verde: 3

Valencia: 2

Unincorporated Bouquet Canyon: 2

Elizabeth Lake: 1

Newhall: 1

unincorporated Saugus/Canyon Country: 1

Lake Hughes: 0 (**revised from 1)

SCV Cases

Of the 70,359 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

Santa Clarita: 52,309

Castaic: 6,940

Stevenson Ranch: 3,868

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 2,498

Acton: 1,466

Val Verde: 808

Agua Dulce: 764

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 651

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 303

Elizabeth Lake: 198

Bouquet Canyon: 147

Lake Hughes: 139

Saugus/Canyon Country: 87

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 87

Sand Canyon: 46

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 33

Placerita Canyon: 15

*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

State Public Health Leaders Modify Omicron Surge Policies as COVID-19 Conditions Improve:

SACRAMENTO – As COVID-19 conditions continue to improve across California and the Omicron surge subsides, temporary measures the state had put in place will expire in the coming weeks.

COVID-19 cases and the rate of community transmission have steadily decreased statewide since early January, and hospitalizations are either plateauing or declining in most regions of the state. Since California’s peak during the Omicron surge, the state has experienced a 65% decrease in case rates.

Additional visitation requirements that took effect on January 7 for long-term care facilities will expire today. Definitions for indoor and outdoor mega events will return to pre-surge guidance (from 500 to 1,000 attendees for indoor events, and 5,000 to 10,000 attendees for outdoor events) after February 15. The indoor masking requirement will expire after February 15 reverting to the previous guidance which requires masking for unvaccinated individuals in all indoor public settings and required masking for all individuals regardless of vaccination status in higher risk settings like public transit and congregate living. Workplaces will continue to follow the COVID-19 prevention standards set by CalOSHA.

The state is continuing to work with education, public health and community leaders to update masking requirements at schools to adapt to changing conditions and ensure the safety of kids, teachers, and staff.

Additional adjustments to the state’s policies will be shared in the coming week.

“Omicron has loosened its hold on California, vaccines for children under 5 are around the corner, and access to COVID-19 treatments is improving,” said Dr. Tomás J. Aragón, CDPH Director and State Public Health Officer. “With things moving in the right direction, we are making responsible modifications to COVID-19 prevention measures, while also continuing to develop a longer-term action plan for the state.”

Additional information on visitation requirements can be found here:

CDPH All Facilities Letter

CDSS Provider Information Notice

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

– 70,183,793 total vaccines administered.

– 82.3% of the eligible population (5+) has been vaccinated with at least one dose.

– 88,099 people a day are receiving COVID-19 vaccination (average daily dose count over 7 days).

Cases

– California has 8,079,771 confirmed cases to date.

– Monday’s average case count is 43,532 (average daily case count over 7 days).

· Unvaccinated people are 7.5 times more likely to get COVID-19 than boosted individuals (Jan. 10, 2022 – Jan. 16, 2022).

Testing

– The testing positivity rate is 9.5% (average rate over 7 days).

Hospitalizations

– There are 10,595 hospitalizations statewide.

– There are 2,101 ICU patients statewide.

– Unvaccinated people are 14.9 times more likely to be hospitalized than boosted individuals (Jan. 10, 2022 – Jan. 16, 2022).

Deaths

– There have been 80,539 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

– COVID-19 claims the lives of 120 Californians each day (average daily death count over 7 days).

– Unvaccinated people are 30.0 times more likely to die than boosted individuals (Jan. 1, 2022 – Jan. 9, 2022).

Health Care Workers

Note: There has been no update of positive cases among health care workers since Jan. 6. 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 Jan. 23 to Jan. 29, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.4 days. During this same time period, 71% of patients received test results in one day and 88% received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

As of Jan. 31, there have been 803 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.

COVID-19 Wastewater Surveillance

CDPH and the California State Water Resources Control Board are coordinating with several wastewater utilities, local health departments, universities and laboratories in California to monitor wastewater surveillance for the virus causing COVID-19. An explanation of wastewater surveillance, list of participating sites and related resources can be found on this webpage.

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.