The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Thursday 23 new deaths and 613 new cases of COVID-19, with 27,535 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

To date, Public Health identified 1,227,514 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 23,569 deaths.

Vaccine Eligibility Expanded
Starting Thursday, April 15, anyone living or working in L.A. County 16 and older is eligible for COVID-19 vaccine and are able to schedule vaccination appointments on the MyTurn website. Youth 16 and 17 can only receive the Pfizer vaccine and need to sign up at a site that offers this vaccine. Minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian who can provide consent for vaccination.

Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status. Moving forward, only Pfizer and Moderna will be offered at L.A. County vaccination sites until the FDA and the CDC have completed their review of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and recommend that providers can begin administering Johnson & Johnson vaccine again.

For information about vaccine appointments in L.A. County and when your turn is coming up, to sign up for a vaccination newsletter, and much more, visit www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish).

California Thursday Snapshot
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) confirmed Thursday 3,608,898 confirmed cases and 59,508 deaths to date. There are 1,865 confirmed hospitalizations and 459 ICU hospitalizations in the state.

Numbers may not represent true day-over-day change as reporting of test results can be delayed.

There were 2,016 newly recorded confirmed cases Wednesday.

The 7-day positivity rate is 1.7%.

There have been 56,997,332 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 159,794 during the prior 24-hour reporting period.

As of April 15, providers have reported administering a total of 24,163,906 vaccine doses statewide. The CDC reports that 30,450,640 doses have been delivered to entities within the state. Numbers do not represent true day-to-day change as reporting may be delayed. For more vaccination data, visit the COVID-19 Vaccine Data Dashboard.

Health Care Worker Infection Rates
As of April 14, local health departments have reported 105,196 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 450 deaths statewide.

Santa Clarita Valley Thursday Update
As of 4:30 p.m. Thursday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard remains unchanged from Wednesday with 298 deaths among Santa Clarita Valley residents to date.

The following is the community breakdown of the 298 SCV residents who have died, according to the L.A. County dashboard:

257 lived in Santa Clarita

17 in Castaic

6 in Acton

5 in Stevenson Ranch

3 in Agua Dulce

3 in unincorporated Canyon Country

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

1 in Valencia

Of the 27,535 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 20,158

Castaic: 3,707

(includes Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility*)

Stevenson Ranch: 1,132

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 836

Acton: 466

Val Verde: 335

Agua Dulce: 277

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 191

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 128

Elizabeth Lake: 76

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 68

Bouquet Canyon: 47

Lake Hughes: 42

Saugus/Canyon Country: 39

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.

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital Thursday Update
Note: Data were not available Thursday. However, as of Wednesday, there were no cases pending, six patients were hospitalized in a dedicated COVID-19 unit, and a total of 1,205 patients had been treated and discharged since the pandemic began, hospital spokesman Patrick Moody said.

There were no additional deaths, keeping the total deaths at 147 people to date. The most recent death was March 21.

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.

L.A. County

Of the 23 new deaths reported Thursday, four people that passed away were over the age of 80, nine people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, six people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, two people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49, and one person who died was between the ages of 18 and 29. One death was reported by the city of Long Beach.

“We send our deepest sympathies to those who are grieving the loss of a loved one to COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “We have reached a good place and time when every Los Angeles County resident or worker 16 years old and older is eligible to get vaccinated. Given additional re-openings and increased activities where large numbers of people are intermingling, vaccines provide very powerful protection that help us reduce community transmission, hospitalizations, and deaths from COVID-19. The pause on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine demonstrates that our vaccine safety program works to continuously monitor new vaccines as use becomes more widespread. We can be confident that the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, both of which have been available to the public for five months and administered to well over 150 million people across the country, are safe for us to continue to use, especially when compared to the risks of getting sick and dying from COVID-19. Please make an appointment to get your vaccine if you are newly eligible and talk with your healthcare provider if you have questions or concerns about getting vaccinated.”

There are 518 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 24% of these people are in the ICU. Testing results are available for nearly 6,251,000 individuals with 18% of people testing positive. Today’s daily test positivity rate is 1.1%.

The number of COVID-19 cases among people experiencing homelessness dropped from the peak of 672 weekly cases reported during late-December to 117 new cases reported this week. The number of new cases reported this week includes 58 cases from previous weeks that were newly identified as cases associated with people experiencing homelessness and were included in the new case totals. To date, Public Health has identified 6,994 cases among people experiencing homelessness. Cumulative case totals are lower due to ongoing quality assurance reviews. Cases previously reported as COVID-19 cases among people experiencing homelessness were re-classified after further investigation and review. A total of 205 people who were experiencing homelessness have passed away from COVID-19. Of the people experiencing homelessness who passed away, 93 were sheltered, 67 were unsheltered, and for 45 people who passed away, their shelter status was unknown.

There are 121 providers reporting they are administering vaccinations to people experiencing homelessness. This is approximately double the organizations compared to the previous week. Currently, 13,621 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to people experiencing homelessness across Los Angeles County. Of those vaccinated, at least 1,907 people received second doses. The County continues working with partner organizations to vaccinate, reduce virus transmission, and protect people experiencing homelessness from COVID-19 infection.

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

On Thursday, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released the most recent statistics on COVID-19, including updated data and tiers for reducing COVID-19 in the state under the Blueprint for a Safer Economy.

Also, CDPH announced the release of two guidance documents on April 14. Please see below for the links and some highlights of each guidance document.

Private venues and events – Distinguished from Gatherings with defined guest lists and assigned seating, capacity limitations include provisions for being able to verify testing or vaccination status.

Indoor seated live events and performances – Outlines conditions for indoor seated live events and entertainment with audiences to support a safe
Today, CDPH is sharing guidance documents focusing on gatherings based on an individual’s vaccination status, social situation, and county tier.

Guidance for Gatherings – Applies to private gatherings – social situations that bring together people from different households at the same time in a single space. Notably, attendance for gatherings is based on county tier status for the Blueprint for a Safer Economy, unless local health departments have more restrictive measures.

Guidance for the Fully Vaccinated – Provides guidelines for people two weeks after full vaccination. This includes:

Spending time with other fully vaccinated people, including indoors, without wearing masks or physical distancing.

Spending time with unvaccinated people from a single household who are at low risk for severe COVID-19 disease indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing.
Refraining from quarantine and testing following a known exposure if asymptomatic (outside the workplace setting).

New: K-12 Schools Outlook for the 2021-22 Academic Year

On Thursday, CDPH posted an Safe Schools Hub have been updated with self-reported data from school districts, charter schools, and private schools throughout the state. Schools are required to submit this data on the second and fourth Monday of each month. This is the first update with data pursuant to AB 86 and includes:

School-Level Data. Reopening status can be searched for and viewed not only on a district-wide basis, but also a school-by-school basis.

Enrollment Data. The maps display data not only on the instructional modes offered, but also on the number of students enrolled in different instructional modes: full time in-person, hybrid, and distance learning.

Note: The self-reported data may include some gaps in data and errors. The maps will be routinely updated to reflect new data, and the state will continue to improve data quality and visualizations.

Vaccine Eligibility Update

As of April 1, individuals aged 50+ are eligible to make an appointment, and individuals 16+ will be eligible to make an appointment to be vaccinated starting on April 15. To sign up for a notification when you’re eligible for a vaccine, please visit myturn.ca.gov. For more information on the vaccine effort, visit Vaccinate All 58.

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 on the variants CDPH is currently monitoring.

Blueprint for a Safer Economy
All counties are 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. As always, local public health departments may implement policies that are more restrictive than the state.

After a request for a review of its data, Merced County was moved today from the Purple (widespread) Tier to Red (substantial) Tier. No counties in California remain in the Purple Tier, a significant milestone in the state’s use of its Blueprint for a Safer Economy.

Blueprint Summary as of April 13

0 counties in the Purple (widespread) Tier

22 counties in the Red (substantial) Tier

33 counties in Orange (moderate) Tier

3 counties in Yellow (minimal) Tier

Blueprint tiers are updated weekly on Tuesdays. Find the status of activities in specific counties.

Additional Date and Updates

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

Updated Travel Advisory
California updated its travel advisory on April 1, 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.

Safe Schools for All Plan
Gov. Newsom released his California’s Safe Schools for All plan, California’s framework to support schools to continue operating safely in person and to expand the number of schools safely resuming in-person instruction. View the data for public schools by selecting a specific district on the School Districts Reopening Map. The map includes reported outbreaks since January 1, 2021.

Vaccinate All 58
The COVID-19 shipment of the COVID-19 vaccine has arrived in California, and additional shipments will continue to arrive throughout this week. The first doses are being administered to health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities. The state is working closely with community partners and stakeholders to help ensure the vaccine is distributed and administered equitably across California. For more information, visit the CDPH COVID-19 Vaccine webpage and Vaccinate All 58.

New Testing Turnaround Time Dashboard
The testing turnaround dashboard reports how long California patients are waiting for COVID-19 test results. During the week of March 28 – April 3, the average time patients waited for test results was just under one day. During this same time period, 84% of patients received test results in one day and 98% received them within two days.

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.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)
As of April 12, there have been 470 cases Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) have been 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.

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 is critical to preventing long-term complications.

Popular links include:

– 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)

Your Actions Save Lives
California is experiencing the fastest increase in cases we have seen yet – faster than what we experienced at the outset of the pandemic and this summer. If COVID-19 continues to spread at this rate, it could quickly overwhelm our health care system and lead to catastrophic outcomes. Protect yourself, family, friends and community by following these prevention measures:

– Staying home except for essential needs/activities and following local and state public health guidelines when visiting businesses that are open.

– Following the Limited Stay at Home Order that requires allnon-essential work and activities to stop between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. in counties in the purple tier. The order took effect at 10 p.m. Saturday, November 21, and will remain in effect until 5 a.m. December 21.

– Staying close to home, avoiding non-essential travel, and practicing self-quarantine for 14 days after arrival if you leave the state.

– Keeping gatherings small, short and outdoors and limiting them to those 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.

– 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.