The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Saturday 1,329 new cases of COVID-19 and 56 new deaths due to the virus countywide, and a total of 2,101 cases reported in the Santa Clarita Valley since the pandemic began, 96 more than reported Friday.

The latest SCV resident to die lived in the city of Santa Clarita, according to Public Health records.

In the SCV, of the 22 people have died of the virus to date, 18 resided in the city of Santa Clarita, 1 in Acton, 1 in Castaic, 1 in unincorporated Valencia and 1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon.

Countywide, Public Health has reported 62,338 positive cases of COVID-19 and a total of 2,620 deaths to date. Ninety-four percent of people who died had underlying health conditions.

California Update
Statewide, California had 126,016 total confirmed cases and 4,559 deaths from COVID-19 as of June 5. There were 3,181 confirmed hospitalizations and 1,077 ICU hospitalizations.

Health Care Worker Infection Rates
As of June 5, local health departments have reported 10,962 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 65 deaths statewide.

Santa Clarita Valley Saturday Update
Of the 2,101 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 829

Castaic: 1,131 (includes Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility*)

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 36

Stevenson Ranch: 35

Val Verde: 28

Acton: 13

Agua Dulce: 10

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 9

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 4

Elizabeth Lake: 3

Bouquet Canyon: 1

Lake Hughes: 1

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 1

*Note: The county is not able to break out separate numbers for Castaic and the PDC/NCCF because the county uses geotagging software that is not easy to change, according to county spokesperson Stephanie English.

Henry Mayo Saturday Update
Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital reported its 11th COVID-related death on Wednesday, June 3, according to hospital spokesman Patrick Moody.

Eleven of the SCV’s 22 fatalities to date have occurred at Henry Mayo.

As of Wednesday, of the 1,824 persons tested at Henry Mayo to date, 227 tested positive, 1,810 were negative, 17 were pending and 8 patients were hospitalized in a dedicated unit receiving ICU-level care. A total of 84 COVID-19 patients have been discharged so far.

Discrepancies in the testing numbers are due to some patients being tested more than once, he said.

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.

L.A. County Demographics
Thirty-six people who died were over the age of 65 years old; 17 people who died were between the ages of 41 and 65 years old, and one person who died was between the ages of 18 and 40 years old. Forty-seven people had underlying health conditions including 30 people over the age of 65 years old and 17 people between the ages of 41 to 65 years old. Two deaths were reported by the City of Long Beach.

Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 2,433 people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health) 41% of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 28% among White residents, 18% among Asian residents, 12% among African American residents, 1% among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander and residents identifying with other races. Upon further investigation, 36 cases and one death reported earlier were not L.A. County residents. As of Saturday, 6,899 people who tested positive for COVID-19 (11% of positive cases) have been hospitalized at some point during their illness. There are 1,462 people who are currently hospitalized, 31% of these people are in the ICU and 20% are on ventilators. Testing capacity continues to increase in L.A. County, with testing results available for over 682,000 individuals and 8% of people testing positive.

“Each day, we think of the many people who are experiencing the sorrow of losing a loved one to COVID-19. Our thoughts and prayers are with you every day, and we are deeply sorry for your loss,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “If you are out and around other people, whether it be visiting reopened spaces or protesting, please try to keep physical distance of at least 6-feet from others and wear a cloth face covering at all times. If you think you may have been exposed to COVID-19 while out, it will be important to remain away from others as much as possible for 14 days. Should you develop symptoms within 14 days of exposure, please contact your healthcare provider or call 2-1-1 to connect to care and testing.”

COVID-19 testing continues to be prioritized for hospitalized patients, healthcare workers, and first responders with symptoms, as well as residents and employees, both symptomatic and asymptomatic, in long-term care facilities or other congregate living settings where there are outbreaks. Additionally, Public Health recommends testing for anyone who is older or has underlying health conditions with symptoms, as well as people who have been close contacts of people who are positive for COVID-19. Anyone that has symptoms should also consider testing. It is important to note testing negative for COVID-19 right after being exposed does not mean you can’t become infected later during the incubation period. Individuals who are tested too soon after being exposed, are less likely to test positive because the viral load may be undetectable to the test. If anyone was possibly exposed to someone with COVID-19, and the test result is negative, they should remain at home for the full 14 days, to prevent spreading illness to others. For more information on how to get tested, visit: covid19.lacounty.gov/testing.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the risk of widespread transmission, everyone should always wear a face covering securely over their nose and mouth and keep six feet apart from others not in their household when out and about. Businesses that are allowed to reopen must continue to implement their physical distancing and infection control protocols that protect both employees and customers. If anyone has been in a crowded setting, where people are congregating who are not using face coverings or distancing, or if you had close contact (within 6 feet for greater than 15 minutes) with non-household members who were not wearing face coverings please consider the following:

If you live with persons who are elderly or have high risk conditions, you should also maintain a six-foot distance and wear a face covering when you are with them at home, avoid preparing food for others, sharing utensils, bedding and towels, and increase cleaning and disinfecting of common surfaces.

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. People who have underlying health conditions remain at much greater risk for serious illness from COVID-19, so it will continue to be very important for the County’s vulnerable residents to stay at home as much as possible, to have groceries and medicine delivered, and to call their providers immediately if they have even mild symptoms.

The Safer at Work and in the Community Health Officer Order, 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.

California Demographics
The California Department of 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 more than 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. Individuals prioritized for testing include:

– Hospitalized patients

– Symptomatic and asymptomatic healthcare workers, first responders, and other social service employees

– Symptomatic individuals age 65 and older or symptomatic individuals of any age with chronic medical conditions that increase the risk of severe COVID-19 illness

– Individuals who are tested as part of disease control efforts in high-risk settings

– Asymptomatic residents and employees of congregate living facilities when needed to prevent disease transmission

– Symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals in essential occupations such as grocery store and food supply workers, utility workers and public employees

– Other individuals with symptoms consistent with COVID-19

As of June 5, there have been 2,308,300 tests conducted in California and reported to the California Department of Public Health. This represents an increase of 69,837 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.

New 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.

Racial Demographics – A More Complete Picture
The California Department of 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 about double their population representation across all adult age categories. For Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, overall numbers are low, but about three-fold difference 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.

Your Actions Save Lives
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 such 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.

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.