The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Thursday 1,777 new cases of COVID-19 and 50 new deaths. The number of new deaths remain higher than the 7-day average of 24 deaths.

In Santa Clarita, Public Health has confirmed 3,503 cases to date. According to Public Health records, of the 36 SCV residents who have died of the virus, 29 lived in the city of Santa Clarita, 2 in Acton, 2 in Castaic, 1 in Val Verde, 1 in unincorporated Valencia, and 1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon.

To date, Public Health has identified 124,738 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County, and a total of 3,689 deaths.

There are 2,037 people currently hospitalized, 26% of these people are confirmed cases in the ICU and 17% are confirmed cases on ventilators. This remains substantially higher than the 1,350 to 1,450 daily hospitalizations seen four weeks ago.

Testing results are available for nearly 1,240,000 individuals with 9% of all people testing positive. The daily positivity rate (a composite of a 7-day rolling average) is 9.2%.

Statewide, as of July 8, the California Department of Public Health has confirmed a total of 296,499 cases and 6,711 deaths from COVID-19. Currently, there are 6,126 confirmed hospitalizations and 1,752 ICU hospitalizations. Numbers may not represent true day-over-day change as reporting of test results can be delayed.

California’s positivity rate – a key indicator of community spread – is trending upward in the 14-day average. Hospitalization rates are also trending upward in the 14-day average.
Numbers may not represent true day-over-day change as reporting of test results can be delayed, and the 7-day average more accurately describes trends in number of cases. The 7-day average number of new cases is 8,043 per day. The 7-day average from the week prior was 6,375. California has 296,499 confirmed cases to date.

There have been 5,078,434 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 82,259 tests over the prior 24-hour reporting period. As testing capacity continues to increase across the state, an increase in the number of positive cases has been expected – increasing the importance of positivity rates to find signs of community spread. Twenty-nine counties have indoor closure orders. **To view the counties, scroll for the list below.**

Health Care Worker Infection Rates
As of July 8, local health departments have reported 16,873 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 97 deaths statewide.

Santa Clarita Valley Tuesday Update
Of the 3,503 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 1,445

Castaic: 1,813 (includes Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility*)

Stevenson Ranch: 77

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 52

Val Verde: 34

Acton: 33

Agua Dulce: 16

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 15

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 7

Elizabeth Lake: 5

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 3

Bouquet Canyon: 1

Lake Hughes: 1

Sand 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.

Henry Mayo Thursday Update
As of Wednesday, July 8, of the 3,936 persons tested at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital to date, 415 tested positive, 3,671 were negative, 407 were pending, 11 patients were hospitalized in a dedicated unit receiving ICU-level care and a total of 132 COVID-19 patients have been discharged so far. The number of deceased remains at 14, hospital spokesman Patrick Moody said.

Discrepancies in the testing numbers are due to some patients being tested multiple times. “Often a single patient is tested more than once,” Moody said.

L.A. County
Countywide, of the 50 people that passed away, 24 people were over the age of 65 years old and 25 people who died were between the ages of 41 and 65 years old. Thirty-three people had underlying health conditions including 15 people over the age of 65 years old and 18 people between the ages of 41 to 65 years old. One death was reported by the city of Long Beach.

“I extend my deepest sympathies and strength to those who are grieving,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “We continue to see increased community spread and we need our businesses and residents to support our community on this recovery journey. We ask everyone to continue to stay home as much as possible, to stay physically distant from people you don’t live with and to observe all the critical infection control precautions in place – wear a face covering, maintain physical distance, wash your hands and avoid crowds and confined spaces. This is especially important as we go into another beautiful summer weekend.”

Ninety-three percent of people who died had underlying health conditions. Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 3,434 people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health); 45% of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 27% among White residents, 16% among Asian residents, 11% among African American/Black residents, less than 1% among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander residents and 1% among residents identifying with other races. Upon further investigation, 43 cases and three deaths reported earlier were not L.A. County residents.

Data continues to expose disproportionality in health outcomes by race, ethnicity and income level data. Latino/Latinx people are more than twice as likely to contract the virus and are also twice as likely to die of the virus, when compared to White people. African American/Black people are 27% more likely to contract the virus and almost twice as likely to die when compared to White people. Communities with high levels of poverty continue to see almost three times more cases than communities with little to no poverty, and people in communities with high levels of poverty are four times more likely to die of COVID-19 than are people in communities with low levels of poverty.

Business owners and residents must take immediate action in order to stop the spread of COVID-19. Stay home if you are elderly or have serious underlying health conditions. Everyone else should stay home as much as possible, and limit activities outside of your home to what is essential – work, getting groceries and medicine, and medical visits. Always wear a face covering and keep physical distance when you are outside your home. And wash your hands frequently. The actions of L.A. County residents to slow the spread cannot wait; we need to act now.

The 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 Thursday
As of July 8, there have been 5,078,434 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 82,259 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. 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

County Monitoring
As of July 9, 29 counties have indoor closure orders, including:

1. Colusa

2. Contra Costa

3. Fresno

4. Glenn

5. Imperial

6. Kern

7. Kings

8. Los Angeles

9. Madera

10. Marin

11. Merced

12. Monterey

13. Napa

14. Orange

15. Placer

16. Riverside

17. Sacramento

18. San Benito

19. San Bernardino

20. San Diego

21. San Joaquin

22. Santa Barbara

23. Santa Clara

24. Solano

25. Stanislaus

26. Sutter

27. Tulare

28. Ventura

29. Yolo

For the counties on the County Data Monitoring list, please visit this CDPH webpage.

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.

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.

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.

To view the Los Angeles County Incident Report for Thursday, see below:

[Open .pdf in new window]