The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health on Thursday confirmed 42 new deaths and 1,239 new cases of COVID-19, including 23 new cases in the Santa Clarita Valley, bringing the SCV total to 5,579 confirmed cases and 54 deaths since the pandemic began.

To date, the agency has identified 251,024 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County, and a total of 6,128 deaths.

There are 940 people hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19 cases, 33% of them in the ICU and 18% on ventilators as of Thursday.

Test results are available for more than 2,406,000 individuals with 10% of all people testing positive.

“We send our deepest sympathies to the friends and families that are grieving the loss of a loved one to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health.

California Thursday Snapshot

Statewide, as of Wednesday, September 9, the California Department of Public Health confirmed a total of 742,865 COVID-19 cases (up 3,338), with 13,978 deaths from the disease (up 137).

There are 3,228 confirmed hospitalizations and 1,040 ICU hospitalizations in the state, continuing a downward trend.

California’s 7-day positivity rate is 3.5% and the 14-day positivity rate is 4.0%, virtually unchanged from Tuesday’s rate.

As of September 9, local health departments have reported 34,506 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 164 deaths statewide.

Numbers do not represent true day-over-day change as these results include cases from prior to yesterday.

COVID Around the World: USA the Chart-Topper in Cases and Deaths
Worldwide, 27,987,325 people have been infected by COVID-19 while 906,011 people have died as of 2:28 Thursday afternoon, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Since the pandemic began, more than 6,390,840 Americans have been diagnosed with COVID-19, while the number of people in the U.S. who have died due to the virus has surpassed 191,612.

The United States has the world’s highest numbers of cases and deaths. By comparison, India, which surged past Brazil to take the No. 2 spot in cases over Labor Day Weekend, had confirmed 4,465,863 million cases and 75,062 deaths as of Wednesday afternoon. Brazil still has the second-highest death toll at 128,539.

Santa Clarita Valley Thursday Update

As of the latest update at 8 p.m. Tuesday, September 8, the L.A. County Public Health COVID-19 data dashboard confirmed 54 SCV residents have died of the virus since the pandemic began.

Of the people who died, 44 lived in the city of Santa Clarita, 3 in Castaic (revised from 4), 2 in Acton, 2 in Stevenson Ranch, 1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon, 1 in Val Verde, and 1 in unincorporated Valencia.

Of the 5,579 cases reported to Public Health among SCV residents to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 3,136

Castaic: 1,917 (most from Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility*)

Stevenson Ranch: 156

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 119

Val Verde: 66

Acton: 65

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 41

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 27

Agua Dulce: 25

Bouquet Canyon: 6

Elizabeth Lake: 6

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 6

Sand Canyon: 6

Lake Hughes: 2

Saugus/Canyon Country: 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 Memorial Hospital on Monday, August 31 reported its 22nd death since the pandemic began, according to hospital spokesman Patrick Moody.

Henry Mayo now releases statistics weekly, on Wednesdays, unless there is a drastic change in the number of cases or a COVID-related death has been confirmed.

As of Wednesday, September 9, of the 7,309 people tested at Henry Mayo to date, 817 tested positive, 8,332 were negative, 15 were pending, 12 patients were hospitalized in a dedicated unit receiving ICU-level care (two more than the previous Wednesday), and a total of 2,340 COVID-19 patients have been discharged so far. COVID-19 fatalities at Henry Mayo stand at 22, 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,” he said.

Controlling, Preventing Workplace Outbreaks

Beginning in July, L.A. County experienced sharp increases in outbreaks at workplaces. To reduce the risk of the spread of COVID-19, Public Health increased outreach and inspections of these facilities.

This past Labor Day weekend, Public Health inspectors visited a total of 331 businesses, including restaurants, markets, hair salons and barbershops, hotels and gyms. The compliance checks revealed reasonably good compliance with many aspects of Public Health protocols, but also that there is room for improvement.

Inspectors noted many gyms and hotels need to work on ensuring that their patrons are wearing a face covering and many restaurants need to work on physical distancing.

Public Health’s compliance team continues to visit businesses across the county every day. Inspectors review county reopening protocols with business owners and ensure they are familiar with all requirements related to disinfection, the use of face coverings, physical distancing, and any other specific required modifications.

These compliance checks are focused on educating business owners that they have a responsibility to their employees and patrons to open responsibly, but can also result in citations for non-compliance where appropriate.

Since Public Health began issuing citations (on August 28), 30 citations have been issued and $23,000 in fines have been imposed.

There is a new program offered by the county for L.A. County business owners called the COVID-19 Safety Compliance Certificate Program. The program is a no-cost online training course that educates business owners on the essentials of the County Health Officer’s Orders and what they need to do to ensure that their business practices are aligned and in compliance with infection control and physical distancing requirements.

After completing the training, businesses will receive a COVID-19 Safety Compliance Certificate that can be posted on storefronts. The training will be available in 13 languages and can be accessed online through the Public Health’s COVID-19 website.

This training is not mandatory. All businesses must still comply with the required protocols.

L.A. County Demographics: Age

Of the 42 new deaths reported Thursday (excluding Long Beach and Pasadena), 14 people that passed away were over the age of 80, 14 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, 10 people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, and four people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49 years old.

Countywide, 92% of people who died had underlying health conditions.

Upon further investigation, 53 cases and seven deaths reported earlier were not L.A. County residents.

Cases by Age Group (Los Angeles County only — excluding Long Beach and Pasadena)

* 0 to 4 3900

* 5 to 11 8471

* 12 to 17 10523

* 18 to 29 58933

* 30 to 49 81537

* 50 to 64 45907

* 65 to 79 18239

* over 80 8581

* Under Investigation 1441

L.A. County Demographics: Race/Ethnicity

Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 5,765 people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health); 51% of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 24% among White residents, 15% among Asian residents, 10% among African American/Black residents, less than 1% among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander residents and 1% among residents identifying with other races.

Data continue to show African American/Black, Latino/Latinx, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander residents and those in low-income communities continue to have disproportionate health outcomes.

L.A. County Public Health’s 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 Blueprint for a Safer Economy

Governor Newsom’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy 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.

California Testing

There have been 12,389,991 tests conducted in California, an increase of 46,191 over the prior 24-hour reporting period.

More than 85 community testing sites offer free, confidential testing: Find a COVID-19 Testing Site.

New Testing Turnaround Time Dashboard

CDPH has posted a new dashboard reporting 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 August 23 to August 29, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.3 days. During this same time period, 66 percent of patients received test results in 1 day and 88 percent received them within two days.

The testing turnaround time dashboard (PDF) is updated weekly.

California Demographics

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 more than one-and-a-half times their population representation across all adult age categories. For Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, overall numbers are low, but almost double 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.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

Each week, the California Department of Public Health updates the number of cases of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) reported in the state.

As of September 7, there have been 73 cases of MIS-C reported statewide, an increase of 16 over the previous week, and 10 the week before that.

To protect patient confidentiality in counties with fewer than 11 cases, CDPH is not providing total counts at this time.

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 are critical to preventing long-term complications.

Protect Yourself and Your Family

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 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

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.

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.

If a person tests positive for COVID-19, they should plan on receiving a call from a public health specialist 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.

California COVID-19 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.

* 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)

Consolidated guidance is available on the California Department of Public Health’s Guidance webpage.

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Always check with trusted sources for the latest accurate information about novel coronavirus (COVID-19):

* Los Angeles County Department of Public Health

* California Department of Public Health

* Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

* Spanish

* World Health Organization

* Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 Dashboard

L.A. County residents can also call 2-1-1.

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