The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Thursday 153 new deaths, including two deaths at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, and 2,873 new cases of COVID-19, with 25,469 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

To date, Public Health identified 1,174,340 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 19,514 deaths.

There are 2,757 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 31% of these people are in the ICU. Testing results are available for nearly 5,729,000 individuals with 19% of people testing positive. Today’s daily test positivity rate is 5.0%.

Of the 153 new deaths reported Thursday, 43 people who passed away were over the age of 80, 53 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, 32 people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, 10 people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49, and two people who died were between the ages of 18 and 29. Ten deaths were reported by the city of Long Beach and three deaths were reported by the city of Pasadena.

Super Bowl/Holiday Weekend Concerns:
Public Health is concerned that actions over the Super Bowl weekend and this past holiday weekend could lead to increases in cases if individuals were not taking precautions and businesses were not fully adhering to their sector specific protocols. Public Health is carefully monitoring data over the upcoming weeks to see the impact across County communities.

If you have symptoms or think you were exposed to someone with COVID-19 or if you were in a crowd or gathering where people were close together and not wearing face coverings and/or keeping their distance you should get tested. Isolate immediately from your family and others if you have symptoms or test positive for COVID-19.

Public Health inspectors go out every day to make sure businesses are compliant with the Los Angeles County Health Officer Order, identify violations, and issue citations for businesses out of compliance. Compliance checks conducted during the Super Bowl weekend revealed Health Officer Order violations including: indoor dining, outdoor dining areas with enclosures, TVs turned on, overcrowding, tables spaced less than eight feet apart, and the lack of face shields for employees. This past holiday weekend inspectors noted restaurants with outdoor dining areas with enclosures, tables less than eight feet apart, TVs turned on, staff without face shields, and retail stores not monitoring occupancy. From Feb. 3 – Feb. 14, a total of 117 citations were issued to businesses including restaurants, food markets, gyms, personal care salons, hair salons/barbershops, and shopping malls for noncompliance with Health Officer Orders. Since the end of August, a total of 984 citations have been issued.

Public Health is carefully tracking outbreaks at worksites and continues to assist sectors with required business protocol compliance and safety measures. There are currently 1,078 ongoing outbreak investigations; this is a 20% reduction from the 1,351 outbreak investigations reported on Feb. 4.

Workers and employers can anonymously report to Public Health clusters of COVID-19 cases at worksites as well as violations of Health Officer Orders and Protocols in the workplace. They can call 888-700-9995, Monday – Friday from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., excluding holidays. A complaint system to report violations is also available online at www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

California Thursday Snapshot
Statewide, the California Department of Public Health confirmed a total of 3,421,720, with 47,924 deaths from the disease. There are 7,904 confirmed hospitalizations and 2,341 ICU hospitalizations in California.

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

There were 5,573 newly recorded confirmed cases Wednesday.

The 7-day positivity rate is 3.2% and the 14-day positivity rate is 3.9%.

There have been 46,504,255 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 119,323 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 Feb. 18, providers have reported administering a total of 6,699,137 vaccine doses statewide. Numbers do not represent true day-to-day change as reporting may be delayed. As of Feb. 18, the CDC reports that 8,722,400 doses have been delivered to entities within the state, and 8,854,155 vaccine doses, which includes the first and second dose, have been shipped.

Health Care Worker Infection Rates
As of Feb. 17, local health departments have reported 92,161 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 385 deaths statewide.

Santa Clarita Valley Thursday Update
As of 4:00 p.m. Thursday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard recorded 243 deaths among Santa Clarita Valley residents since the pandemic began, but did not include the most recent deaths at Henry Mayo.

Of the 243 SCV residents who have died, 209 lived in Santa Clarita, 13 in Castaic, 7 in Acton, 4 in Stevenson Ranch, 3 in unincorporated Canyon Country, 2 in Agua Dulce, 1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon, 1 in Lake Hughes, 1 in Newhall, 1 in Val Verde, and 1 in Valencia.

Of the 25,469 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 18,599

Castaic: 3,534

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

Stevenson Ranch: 1,016

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 759

Acton: 427

Val Verde: 304

Agua Dulce: 247

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 171

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 127

Elizabeth Lake: 72

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 66

Bouquet Canyon: 42

Lake Hughes: 40

Saugus/Canyon Country: 36

Sand Canyon: 15

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 14

*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 two additional deaths Thursday from COVID-19, bringing the total number to 137 to date, according to hospital spokesman Patrick Moody.

As of Thursday, 1 case was pending, 14 patients were hospitalized in dedicated COVID-19 units receiving ICU-level care, and a total of 1,129 patients had been treated and discharged, Moody said.

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

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
“To the many families and friends experiencing the loss of losing a loved one to COVID-19, we send our deepest sympathies,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “As everyone knows who is sick with COVID-19 or worrying about a loved one in the hospital infected with the virus, we are not out of the woods yet. With almost 3,000 people testing positive still, community transmission remains high. It is so important residents and businesses continue to follow the guidance and directives in the Health Officer Order so that our recovery journey continues as we slow the spread of the virus. Each day more and more people are vaccinated and if we diligently adhere to the public health safety measures while increasing vaccinations, we can get to the end of this pandemic and save many more lives.”

Public Health encourages L.A. County businesses to take advantage of the COVID-19 Safety Compliance Certification Program. The Program allows employers and employees to voluntarily participate in 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 22,058 employees and employers have completed the training.

COVID-19 vaccine supply remains very limited. For information about vaccine appointments in L.A. County, when your turn is coming up, to sign up for a vaccination newsletter, and much more, visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish).

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

Blueprint for a Safer Economy
With the Regional Stay at Home Order rescinded statewide as of Jan. 25, all counties are now 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.

Blueprint Summary as of Feb. 16

– 52 counties in the Purple (widespread) Tier

– 3 counties in the Red (substantial) Tier – Del Norte, Mariposa, and Plumas

– 3 counties in Orange (moderate) Tier – Alpine, Sierra, and Trinity

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
CDPH has issued an updated travel advisory. 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
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.

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. California has worked to reduce testing turnaround times in recent weeks to help curb the spread of the virus. During the week of Jan. 31 – Feb. 6, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.1 days. During this same time period, 77% of patients received test results in one day and 93% 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 Feb. 15, 266 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. View COVID-19 Race & Ethnicity Data and Cases and Deaths by Age Group.

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.