The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health on Thursday confirmed 2,012 new new cases of COVID-19 and 42 new deaths due to the virus countywide, with a total of 2,977 confirmed COVID-19 cases reported in the Santa Clarita Valley since the pandemic began, 65 more cases than Wednesday.

In the SCV, 30 people have died of the virus to date, according to Public Health records — 24 resided in the city of Santa Clarita, 2 in Acton, 2 in Castaic, 1 in unincorporated Valencia, and 1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon.

Countywide, Public Health has reported 91,467 positive cases of COVID-19 and a total of 3,246 deaths to date. Ninety-four percent of people who died had underlying health conditions.

Statewide, as of June 24, the California Department of Public Health has confirmed a total of 195,571 cases and 5,733 deaths from COVID-19. Currently, there are 4,240 confirmed hospitalizations and 1,306 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 modestly upward in the 14-day average. Hospitalization rates over the long-term are showing a slight uptick in the 14-day average. Numbers may not represent true day-over-day change as reporting of test results can be delayed. There have been 3,694,345 tests conducted in California. 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.

Health Care Worker Infection Rates
As of June 24, local health departments have reported 13,958 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 85 deaths statewide.

Santa Clarita Valley Thursday Update
Of the 2,977 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 1,031

Castaic: 1,772 (includes Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility*)

Stevenson Ranch: 52

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 40

Val Verde: 25

Acton: 20

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 12

Agua Dulce: 11

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 5

Elizabeth Lake: 4

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 3

Bouquet Canyon: 1

Lake Hughes: 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
Henry Mayo Newhall 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.

As of Wednesday, June 24, of the 2,725 persons tested at Henry Mayo to date, 282 tested positive, 2,766 were negative, 50 were pending and 13 patients were hospitalized in a dedicated unit receiving ICU-level care. A total of 99 COVID-19 patients have been discharged so far.

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

L.A. County Demographics
Thirty-one people who died were over the age of 65 years old, eight 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. Thirty people had underlying health conditions including 24 people over the age of 65 years old and six people between the ages of 41 to 65 years old. One death was reported by the City of Long Beach and one death was reported by the City of Pasadena.

Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 3,021 people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health); 43% of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 28% among White residents, 17% 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, 35 cases and one death reported earlier were not L.A. County residents. There are 1,633 people who are currently hospitalized, 25% of these people are in the ICU and 18% are on ventilators.

Public Health continues to assess key recovery indicators to understand how COVID-19 is affecting communities and capacity to treat people who may become seriously ill. And while Los Angeles County continues to see a decline in average daily deaths, the rate of death exposes significant disproportionality. Latinos/Latinx now have the highest mortality rate at 38 deaths per 100,000 people and African Americans/Blacks continue to have a high mortality rate at 37 deaths per 100,000 people. The mortality rate for Asians is 25 deaths per 100,000 people and for Whites is 19 per 100,000 people. People who live in communities with the highest rates of poverty have a mortality rate of 64 per 100,000 people, four times higher than people living in communities with the lowest rate of poverty (16%). Although, Public Health is seeing significant increases in hospitalizations, capacity in intensive care units and the supply of ventilators remain stable. The County also has retained the capacity to test more than 15,000 people each day.

“To the people across our communities who are mourning their loved one lost to COVID-19, we wish you healing and peace,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “We are at an important moment in our COVID-19 recovery journey. For the last few weeks businesses and public spaces have reopened, and many more people have been out and around others. As you may be aware, the data is now showing concerning trends. This week we have seen cases increase, hospitalizations increase, and the positivity rate for testing increase. We also know that the average age of the people who are infected, including those who are newly infected, is trending younger than before. We all need to do better because we can only be safer in the community if we follow the very specific guidelines Public Health has mandated.”

Throughout the pandemic and before, Public Health receives and responds to complaints about retail businesses and restaurants. During the months of May and June, the majority of complaints have been about masks and face coverings and businesses not having protocols in place and posted. Prior to onsite dining being permitted, inspectors visited retailers who were permitted to open for curbside pickup and eventually in-store sales. Over the weekends of May 16 and May 24, inspectors visited 2,305 retailers that were allowing curbside pickup and provided assistance with reopening protocols for 1,506 (65%) of these retailers. Since May 29, inspectors have been visiting restaurants to assist with compliance for on-site dining directives. Over the weekends of May 30, June 6 and June 13, inspectors visited 3,751 establishments, and provided information to 3,109 (83%). Public Health will continue to respond to complaints and monitor businesses for compliance with Health Officer Orders to keep employees, customers and residents as safe as possible.

Because increased contact with others not in your household results in increased risk of transmission of COVID-19, everyone must continue to follow distancing and infection control directives and wear a clean cloth face covering that securely covers both your nose and mouth when in contact with other people not in your household. 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. It’s important if someone thinks they could be positive for COVID-19 and are awaiting testing results, to stay at home and act as if they are positive. This means self-isolating for 10 days and 72 hours after symptoms and fever subside, or until they receive a negative result. If a person tests positive for COVID-19, they should plan on receiving a call from a contact tracer to discuss how to protect themselves and others, to find out where they may have been, and who they were in close contact with while infectious. 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 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 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 24, there have been 3,694,345 tests conducted in California and reported to the California Department of Public Health. This represents an increase of 101,446 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.

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.