The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Thursday 218 new deaths, including 2 more deaths at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, and 19,719 new cases of COVID-19 countywide, with 18,868 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

To date, Public Health identified 871,404 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 11,545 deaths.

Of the 218 new deaths reported Thursday, 20 deaths were reported by the city of Long Beach and one death was reported by the city of Pasadena.

There are 8,098 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 20% of these people are in the ICU. Since January 3, the number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 has increased by more than 550 people.

Testing results are available for nearly 4,890,000 individuals with 17% of people testing positive. Today’s daily test positivity rate is 20.4%

Because COVID-19 is spreading throughout L.A. County at an alarming acceleration, businesses are reminded they have a duty to protect employees, customers and residents from transmission of COVID-19 as much as possible and implement all safety measures in the business protocols that prevent COVID-19 transmission.

California Thursday Snapshot
Statewide, the California Department of Public Health confirmed a total of 2,518,611 cases, with 27,003 deaths from the disease. There are 21,936 confirmed hospitalizations and 4,712 ICU hospitalizations in California.

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

There were 36,385 newly recorded confirmed cases Wednesday.

The 7-day positivity rate is 14.3% and the 14-day positivity rate is 12.9%.

There have been 34,760,355 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 211,734 during the prior 24-hour reporting period.

As case numbers continue to rise in California, the total number of individuals who will have serious outcomes will also increase.

As of Jan. 7, a total of 586,379 vaccine doses have been administered statewide. As of Jan. 7, a total of 2,052,025 vaccine doses, which includes the first and second dose, have been shipped to local health departments and health care systems that have facilities in multiple counties.

Health Care Worker Infection Rates
As of Jan. 6, local health departments have reported 73,078 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 275 deaths statewide.

Santa Clarita Valley Thursday Update
As of 6:15 p.m. Thursday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard, reported 130 deaths among Santa Clarita Valley residents since the pandemic began, but had not yet included 6 deaths Henry Mayo recently accounted for.

Of the 136 SCV residents who have died, 112 lived in Santa Clarita, 6 in Castaic, 4 in Acton, 3 in unincorporated Canyon Country, 3 in Stevenson Ranch, 1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon, 1 in Val Verde, and 6 in communities not yet named.

Of the 18,868 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 13,442

Castaic: 3,079 (includes Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility*)

Stevenson Ranch: 702

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 546

Acton: 310

Val Verde: 212

Agua Dulce: 156

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 116

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 99

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 57

Elizabeth Lake: 46

Saugus/Canyon Country: 28

Bouquet Canyon: 30

Lake Hughes: 26

Sand Canyon: 10

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 9

*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 reported 2 additional deaths Thursday, bringing the total of COVID-19 deaths to 81, according to hospital spokesman Patrick Moody.

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.

As of Thursday, of the 15,962 people tested for COVID-19 at Henry Mayo to date, 2,768 tested positive, 18,901 were negative, 16 were pending, 103 patients were hospitalized in dedicated units receiving ICU-level care, and a total of 765 COVID-19 patients have been treated and discharged so far, Moody said.

Discrepancies in the testing numbers at the hospital are due to some patients being tested multiple times, he said.

Henry Mayo releases complete statistics weekly, usually on Wednesdays, unless one or more new deaths occur.

Due to staffing shortages and a large number of COVID-19 patient admissions, Henry Mayo recently issued a “code triage” alert and put out a call for nurses and doctors to fill open staff positions.

L.A. County

Public Health’s compliance teams continue to visit businesses across the County every day and review public health protocols with business owners, identify deficiencies, and issue citations for businesses out of compliance. From December 6, 2020 through January 3, 2021 a total of 143 citations were issued to businesses including restaurants, gyms, personal care salons, hair salons/barbershops, places of worship, and shopping malls for noncompliance with Health Officer Orders. Since the end of August, a total of 526 citations have been issued.

Businesses that are not adhering to safety protocols to protect workers and customers contribute to increased risk for COVID-19 spread. A list of non-compliant businesses that received citations can be found online.

To assist L.A. County businesses follow the required protocols and maintain their operations with as much safety as possible for their staff, customers, and visitors, Public Health encourages businesses to take advantage of the COVID-19 Safety Compliance Certification Program. The program provides business owners and employees the opportunity to take a free online training about COVID-19 infection control protocols and allows businesses to self-certify that they are fully implementing protocols in compliance with infection control and physical distancing requirements. To date, a total of 18,452 employees and employers have completed the training.

“Our hearts go out to the families that are grieving the loss of a loved one to COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Everyone in L.A. County, businesses and residents, needs to follow the rules if there is any chance we can get out of this surge by the end of the month. Every day we report a large number of people newly infected with COVID-19, it is like a reset on the clock for when we can get back to our recovery journey. I implore everyone to stay home as much as possible. Shopping for anything except food and medicine and mingling with others are activities we all need to stop doing for the next few weeks as it increases risk. There are just too many people spreading the virus, too many people sick and hospitalized and each person that dies is one too many.”

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

The California Department of Public Health issued vaccine recommendations Thursday to local public health departments and providers focused on accelerating the pace of COVID-19 vaccine administration. The recommendations clarify the state’s vaccine prioritization process and that after appropriate efforts to reach highest priority groups, health departments and providers may offer doses to lower priority groups when high-priority demand subsides, or when doses are about to expire.

“California’s health care providers have done incredible work thus far in vaccinating hundreds of thousands of Californians,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom. “On behalf of our state, I thank our hospitals, doctors, nurses, and others for joining us in this all-hands-on-deck commitment to safely and quickly Vaccinate All 58. When Californians join together, our spirit of resiliency and innovation always wins. By continuing to take the precautions we need to get through this surge, and by ramping up safe and equitable vaccinations, we can and we will get through this darkest part of the tunnel to the light.”

To maximize vaccine administration and reduce the potential for waste, local health departments and providers should immediately administer COVID-19 vaccines to individuals in all tiers of Phase 1a. In addition to frontline health care workers, this includes a wide range of people in health care settings such as community health care workers, public health field staff, primary care clinics, specialty clinics, laboratory workers, dental clinics and pharmacy staff.

Local health departments and providers should make special efforts to administer vaccine to vaccinators and consider partnering with others to provide vaccinations for individuals in prioritized tiers. They may also allocate doses on the assumption that immunization will be accepted by some but not all who are offered the vaccine, and then continue to offer vaccinations in progressive priority tiers. For example, if a county has maximized use of the vaccine to administer individuals in Phase 1a, they should move to Tier 1 of Phase 1b while continuing to offer vaccines to those in higher priority groups.

CDPH announced the most recent statistics on COVID-19, including data on intensive care unit (ICU) capacity across the state. Based on ICU data, four regions, San Joaquin Valley, Southern California, Greater Sacramento and the Bay Area continue under the Regional Stay at Home Order. Once a region’s four-week ICU projection shows a capacity of greater than or equal to 15%, the order will be lifted for that area.

Current Available ICU Capacity by Region

Bay Area: 3.5%

Greater Sacramento: 9.2%

Northern California: 25.4%

San Joaquin Valley: 0.0%

Southern California: 0.0%

Current Status of Regional Stay at Home Order in Affected Regions

San Joaquin Valley: Remains under order; four-week ICU capacity projections do not meet criteria to exit order.

Southern California: Remains under order; four-week ICU capacity projections do not meet criteria to exit order.

Greater Sacramento: Remains under order; four-week ICU capacity projections do not meet criteria to exit order.

Bay Area: Will remain under the order until at least January 8 with potential to extend depending on four-week ICU capacity projections. The region’s ICUD projections will be announced on Saturday, Jan. 9, based on Jan. 8 data.

ICU capacity projections for regions that are eligible to exit the order are calculated daily based on four factors: current estimated regional ICU capacity available, measure of current community transmission, current regional case rates and the proportion of ICU cases being admitted. Decreasing community transmission and increasing the health system capacity can help a region’s projected ICU capacity so they can exit the order.

Due to high rates of COVID-19 hospitalizations impacting the health care system, California is also under a Limited Stay at Home Order. The order applies to all counties that are currently under the Regional Stay at Home Order and those in Tier One (Purple) of the Blueprint for a Safer Economy. The Limited Stay at Home Order will expire after the Regional Stay At Home Order has been terminated in all regions of the state.

See region map. Read the full Regional Stay at Home Order, Supplement to the Order, and frequently asked questions.

Updated Travel Advisory
CDPH has issued an updated travel advisory. Except in connection with essential travel, Californians should avoid non-essential travel to any part of California more than 120 miles from one’s place of residence, or to other states or countries. Avoiding travel reduces the risk of virus transmission, including by reducing the risk that new sources of infection and, potentially, new virus strains will be introduced to California. Postponing travel and staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from COVID-19. Non-essential travelers from other states or countries are strongly discouraged from entering California and should adhere to the state’s self-quarantine procedures for 10 days.

Safe Schools for All Plan
Governor 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.

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.

Blueprint for a Safer Economy

Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled the Blueprint for a Safer Economy, a statewide plan for reducing COVID-19 and keeping Californians healthy and safe. The plan imposes risk-based criteria on tightening and loosening COVID-19 allowable activities and expands the length of time between changes to assess how any movement affects the trajectory of the disease.

Californians can go to covid19.ca.gov to find out where their county falls and what activities are allowable in each county.

New Testing Turnaround Time Dashboard
The testing turnaround dashboard reports how long California patients are waiting for COVID-19 test results. California has worked to reduce testing turnaround times in recent weeks to help curb the spread of the virus. During the week of Dec. 13 – Dec. 19, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.6 days. During this same time period, 51% of patients received test results in one day and 81% 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 Jan. 4, 161 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.

New Health Equity Dashboard
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted existing inequities in health that are the result of structural racism and poverty, and the disproportionate prevalence of underlying conditions such as asthma and heart disease among Latinos and African Americans. As part of its commitment to reduce health inequities and ensure the best outcomes for all Californians, the state has launched a Health Equity Dashboard on www.covid19.ca.gov that tracks California’s health equity measure and data by race and ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender identity.

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: Latinos, African Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are dying at disproportionately higher levels. 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.

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.