The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Thursday 148 new deaths, including 5 additional deaths at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital and 13,678 new cases of COVID-19 countywide, with 15,069 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

This is the second consecutive day the County has surpassed the highest number of new COVID-19 deaths.

To date, Public Health identified 677,299 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 9,299 deaths.

There are 6,499 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 20% of these people are in the ICU. This is again a new high. In the last week, the number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 has increased by more than 1,600 people.

Access to sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE) continues to be a challenge for long-term care facilities and community partners. Under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Public Health is providing more than $10 million worth of PPE to skilled nursing facilities, assisted living homes, adult residential care sites, substance use disorder centers, housing assistance programs and violence intervention agencies. Depending on the setting and specific PPE need, the packages include N95 respirators, face masks, face shields, gowns and gloves to help bridge access to these important items. Between now and the end of the year, these goods are being delivered to over 4,000 long-term care facilities and community partners.

Of the 148 new deaths reported Thursday, 51 people that passed away were over the age of 80 years old, 45 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, 28 people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, 11 people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49 years old, and one person who died was between the ages 18 and 29 years old. Ninety-six people who died had underlying health conditions including 36 people over the age of 80 years old, 34 people between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, 17 people between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, eight people between the ages of 30 and 49 years old, and one person between the ages of 18 and 29 years old. Eight deaths were reported by the City of Long Beach and four deaths were reported by the city of Pasadena.

California Thursday Snapshot
Statewide, the California Department of Public Health confirmed a total of 2,003,146 confirmed, with 23,635 deaths from the disease. There are 18,875 confirmed hospitalizations and 3,9625 ICU hospitalizations in California.

Numbers may not represent true day-over-day change as reporting of test results can be delayed.
There were 39,070 newly recorded confirmed cases Wednesday.

The 7-day positivity rate is 12.1% and the 14-day positivity rate is 12.4%.

There have been 30,769,749 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 301,189 over 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.

Health Care Worker Infection Rates
As of Dec. 23, local health departments have reported 65,566 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 246 deaths statewide.

Santa Clarita Valley Thursday Update
As of 5:30 p.m. Thursday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard, reported 109 deaths among Santa Clarita Valley residents since the pandemic began.

Of the 109 SCV residents who have died, 92 lived in Santa Clarita, 5 in Castaic, 4 in Stevenson Ranch (revised from 5 on Wednesday), 3 in Acton, 3 in unincorporated Canyon Country, 1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon, and 1 in Val Verde.

Of the 15,069 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 10,454

Castaic: 2,803 (includes Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility*)

Stevenson Ranch: 531

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 439

Acton: 231

Val Verde: 164

Agua Dulce: 113

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 95

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 72

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 52

Elizabeth Lake: 36

Lake Hughes: 21

Bouquet Canyon: 22

Saugus/Canyon Country: 24

Sand Canyon: 8

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 4

*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 5 additional COVID-19 deaths on Thursday, bringing the total to date to 65, hospital spokesman Patrick Moody said.

As of Thursday, of the 14,709 people tested for COVID-19 at Henry Mayo to date, 2,195 tested positive, 17,592 were negative, 16 were pending, 85 patients were hospitalized in a dedicated unit receiving ICU-level care (an increase of five since Friday), and a total of 602 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.

Henry Mayo releases complete statistics weekly, usually on Wednesdays, unless a new death occurs, Moody said.

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 is generally 48 hours behind.

L.A. County

“We extend our deepest condolences to the many people across L.A. County who have lost a loved one to COVID-19. It is heartbreaking to report today nearly 150 more L.A. County residents died from COVID-19 leaving families grieving through the holiday season,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “A person now dies every 10 minutes in L.A. County from COVID-19 – and since many of these deaths are preventable, our collective focus should be on doing right to save lives. I hope we can each find the strength and courage to take responsibility for each other’s well-being. Follow the public health directives. These are the only tools that will work right now.”

We need every resident to follow the safety measures to stop the surge. This means staying home and limiting all non-essential activities. When you must leave your home, always wear a face covering and keep distance from others, no crowding and wash hands frequently.

Public Health is reporting two additional cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). This brings the total cases of MIS-C in L.A. County to 51 children including one child death. All 51 children with MIS-C in L.A. County were hospitalized and nearly 50% of the children were treated in the ICU. Of the children with MIS-C, 31% were under the age of 5 years old, 38% were between the ages of 5 and 11 years old, and 31% were between the ages of 12 and 20 years old. Latino/Latinx children account for nearly 73% of the reported cases.

MIS-C is an inflammatory condition associated with COVID-19 and symptoms include fever that does not go away and inflamed body parts, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs. If you believe your child is displaying MIS-C symptoms, contact your primary care provider. If you do not have a primary care provider, dial 2-1-1 and L.A. County will help connect you to one.

Testing results are available for more than 4,500,000 individuals with 14% of people testing positive

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

SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Public Health provided latest facts around COVID-19 Thursday, including California reaching 2 million positive cases.

“Today California hit a sobering milestone, we have surpassed 2 million COVID-19 cases. While this means we are leveraging our testing capacity, it is a reminder that this virus continues to spread through our communities,” said Dr. Mark Ghaly, Secretary of California’s Health and Human Services Agency. “Hospitals are full, ICU beds are few, people are dying. The simplest thing we can do, but also the most significant, is to stay home. We are the first line of defense against this virus and we must act now.”

Due to high rates of COVID-19 hospitalizations impacting the health care system, California is 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.

Based on current ICU data, four regions, San Joaquin Valley, Southern California, Greater Sacramento and the Bay Area are under the Regional Stay at Home Order. Regions must remain under the Regional Stay at Home Order for at least three weeks and will be eligible to exit the order and return to the Blueprint for a Safer Economy only if ICU capacity projections for the following month are above or equal to 15%.

The dates regions will be eligible to exit are:

San Joaquin: Monday, Dec. 28

Southern California: Monday, Dec. 28

Greater Sacramento: Friday, Jan. 1

Bay Area: Friday, Jan. 8

Current available ICU capacity by region:

Bay Area: 9.24%

Greater Sacramento Region: 15.3%

Northern California: 27.5%

San Joaquin Valley: 0.0%

Southern California: 0.0%

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

Note: Thursday’s age and gender data include numbers reported as of Dec. 22 due to a delay in analyzing demographic information for the cases from the prior 24 hours. Case, fatality and hospitalization data include numbers reported as of Dec. 23.

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.

Holiday Tips
Reduce your risk this holiday season and help stop the spread of COVID-19. Follow guidance from CDPH and plan safer celebrations. Get Holiday tips at covid19.ca.gov.

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. 6 – Dec. 12, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.8 days. During this same time period, 46% of patients received test results in one day and 75% received them within two days. The testing turnaround time dashboard (PDF) is updated weekly.

At this time, all four tiers in the Testing Prioritization Guidance will have equal priority for testing.

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)
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 Dec. 21, 157 cases of MIS-C have been reported statewide. To protect patient confidentiality in counties with fewer than 11 cases, we are 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 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.