The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Thursday 213 new deaths, including three additional deaths at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, and 6,592 new cases of COVID-19 countywide, with 23,542 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

To date, Public Health has identified 1,097,941 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 16,107 deaths. On Saturday, L.A. County surpassed the grim milestone of more than 15,000 COVID-19 deaths.

COVID-19 deaths reflect transmission that occurred weeks earlier. Because of the recent surge in cases and hospitalizations earlier this month, the County will likely continue to experience high number of deaths a day for some time.

Of the 213 new deaths reported Thursday, 62 people who passed away were over the age of 80, 69 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, 38 people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, 24 people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49, one person who died was between the ages of 18 and 29 years old, and one death is under investigation. Sixteen deaths were reported by the city of Long Beach and two deaths were reported by the city of Pasadena.

As of Jan. 25, there have been a total of nine deaths among the 5,569 pregnant women who tested positive for COVID-19. Seventy-nine percent of pregnant women testing positive for COVID-19 are Latina/Latinx, 9% are White, 4% are African American/Black, 4% are Asian, less than 1% are Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, 2% identify with another race, and race/ethnicity was unknown or unspecified for 2%. Among the 3,405 births where there was testing information, 46 infants tested positive for the virus.

Public Health continues to urge expecting and new moms to take extra care and remain home as much as possible to avoid exposure to COVID-19. If you are sick or positive for COVID-19 and breastfeeding, wear a mask while breastfeeding or bottle-feeding, and be sure to wash your hands before touching the baby or any pump or bottle before using. If possible, ask someone else to feed the baby your breastmilk by bottle. Public Health has detailed guidance for expecting and new moms available online.

There are 6,026 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 26% of these people are in the ICU. Testing results are available for nearly 5,446,000 individuals with 19% of people testing positive.

California Thursday Snapshot
Statewide, the California Department of Public Health confirmed a total of 3,186,610 cases, with 38,961 deaths from the disease. There are 16,251 confirmed hospitalizations and 4,196 ICU hospitalizations in California.

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

There were 16,696 newly recorded confirmed cases Wednesday.

The 7-day positivity rate is 7.5% and the 14-day positivity rate is 8.5%.

There have been 41,470,634 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 218,152 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. 28, providers have reported administering a total of 2,893,493 vaccine doses statewide. Numbers do not represent true day-to-day change as reporting may be delayed. As of Jan. 28, a total of 4,736,750 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. 27, local health departments have reported 84,432 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 331 deaths statewide..

Santa Clarita Valley Thursday Update
As of 4:30 p.m. Thursday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard recorded 194 deaths among Santa Clarita Valley residents since the pandemic began, but had not yet included the most recent deaths reported by Henry Mayo.

Of the 199 SCV residents who have died, 165 lived in Santa Clarita, 12 in Castaic, 6 in Acton, 4 in Stevenson Ranch, 3 in unincorporated Canyon Country, 2 in Agua Dulce, 1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon, 1 in Val Verde, and 5 in communities not yet named.

Of the 23,542 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 17,138

Castaic: 3,384(includes Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility*)

Stevenson Ranch: 931

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 689

Acton: 389

Val Verde: 267

Agua Dulce: 211

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 157

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 116

Elizabeth Lake: 68

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 61

Bouquet Canyon: 40

Lake Hughes: 36

Saugus/Canyon Country: 29

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 13

Sand Canyon: 13

*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 announced three new deaths Thursday, bringing the hospital’s COVID-19 death toll to 116, hospital spokesman Patrick Moody said.

As of Thursday, 0 cases are pending, 74 patients were hospitalized in dedicated COVID-19 units receiving ICU-level care, and a total of 992 COVID-19 patients have been treated and discharged so far, 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.

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
“We send our heartfelt condolences to the families and friends mourning loved ones who have passed away from COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “To continue to drive down transmission, we all must commit to taking the actions that work to slow COVID-19 spread. When more sectors re-open the risk of COVID-19 transmission increases, because people are interacting more with non-household members. In order to avoid re-openings resulting in increases in cases, businesses and individuals need to be more diligent, not less, in following public health measures. We have a way to go before our hospitals are not stressed and fewer people die each day. Staying on a recovery journey is only possible if we all play by the rules.”

COVID-19 vaccine supply remains very limited. At this time, only Los Angeles County healthcare workers in Phase 1A and County residents age 65 and older are eligible to get their vaccination. When new appointments become available, residents with internet access and a computer are urged to use www.VaccinateLACounty.com to sign up. On the website, you can also learn about the vaccination phases, determine when you can get vaccinated, and sign-up for the COVID-19 vaccine newsletter. For those without access to a computer or the internet, or with disabilities, a call center is open daily from 8:00 a.m. – 8:30 p.m. to help schedule appointments at 833-540-0473.

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

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 Update as of Jan. 26:

54 counties are currently in the Purple Tier

3 counties are currently in the Red Tier (Alpine, Mariposa, and Trinity)

1 county is currently in the Orange Tier (Sierra)

No counties are in the Yellow Tier

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

Tracking COVID-19 in California

State Dashboard – Daily COVID-19 data

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. 10 – Jan. 16, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.5 days. During this same time period, 61% of patients received test results in one day and 85% 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. 25, 188 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.