The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Thursday 39 new deaths and 1,165 new cases of COVID-19, with 5,933 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

To date, Public Health identified 264,414 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 6,455 deaths.

Public Health is seeing a steady decline in COVID-19 deaths in skilled nursing facilities in Los Angeles County. Skilled nursing facility COVID-19-associated deaths peaked in the beginning of May with 190 deaths a week. By mid-September, deaths in skilled nursing facilities dropped to 22 a week. Skilled nursing facilities did not experience an increase in COVID-19 deaths in July and August as Los Angeles County did overall.

Public Health remains in regular contact with skilled nursing facilities and provides facilities with education, technical assistance, guidance, emergency supplies of personal protective equipment, and COVID-19 testing support. Public Health also continues to survey skilled nursing facilities in the County for compliance with mandated COVID-19 testing and reports of COVID-19 cases and outbreaks. All 341 skilled nursing facilities are conducting testing of residents and staff; between September 6 and September 12, 30,000 COVID-19 tests were completed among staff and residents. The percentage of residents that tested positive during this time period was 1.3% and for staff was .4%. Ninety-nine percent of skilled nursing facilities reported having adequate staffing and 94% reported having adequate PPE. Out of the 341 facilities, 164 were reported as having one or more cases and 177 facilities reported no positive cases. Public Health continues to conduct on-site inspections at skilled nursing facilities that are reported to be in noncompliance with infection control practices, or those that have reports of noncompliance that caused serious harm or death to a resident. These inspections occur within 24 hours of reported complaints.

California Thursday Snapshot
Statewide, the California Department of Public Health confirmed a total of 790,640, with 15,314 deaths from the disease. There are 2,578 confirmed hospitalizations and 774 ICU hospitalizations in California.

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

There were 3,170 newly recorded confirmed cases Wednesday. Numbers do not represent true day-over-day change as these results include cases from prior to yesterday.

The 7-day positivity rate is 2.8% and the 14-day positivity rate is 3.1%.

There have been 13,952,857 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 73,434 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.

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 Sept. 6 – Sept. 12, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.2 days. During this same time period, 69 percent of patients received test results in 1 day and 90 percent received them within two days. The testing turnaround time dashboard (PDF) is updated weekly.

As of Sept. 22, 2020, California’s testing capacity and turnaround time have improved. As a result and until further notice, all four tiers in the Testing Prioritization Guidance originally dated July 14, 2020 will have equal priority for testing.

Health Care Worker Infection Rates
As of Sept. 23, local health departments have reported 37,855 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 182 deaths statewide.

Santa Clarita Valley Thursday Update
As of 4:30 p.m. Thursday, the L.A. County Public Health COVID-19 data dashboard remains unchanged from Wednesday with 58 COVID-19 deaths in the Santa Clarita Valley. Of those SCV deaths, 47 lived in the city of Santa Clarita, 4 in Castaic, 2 in Acton, 2 in Stevenson Ranch, 1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon, 1 in Val Verde, and 1 in unincorporated Valencia.

Of the 5,933 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 3,397

Castaic: 1,962 (includes Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility*)

Stevenson Ranch: 162

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 133

Val Verde: 76

Acton: 70

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 44

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 27

Agua Dulce: 27

Bouquet Canyon: 8

Elizabeth Lake: 7

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 7

Sand Canyon: 7

Lake Hughes: 4

Saugus/Canyon Country: 2

*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
As of Wednesday, of the 8,043 people tested at Henry Mayo to date, 869 tested positive, 9,409 were negative, 21 were pending, 10 patients were hospitalized in a dedicated unit receiving ICU-level care, and a total of 253 COVID-19 patients have been discharged so far, according to hospital spokesman Patrick Moody. COVID-19 fatalities at Henry Mayo stand at 23.

Discrepancies in the testing numbers are due to some patients being tested multiple times. “Often a single patient is tested more than once,” Moody said.

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

L.A. County

“Our hearts go out to the many families that have lost a love one to this COVID-19 pandemic,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “We are acutely aware of the grief experienced by those who lost a family member living at a nursing home and we remain laser-focused on ensuring that we do everything we can to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in skilled nursing facilities. We know that whenever there is increased community transmission, residents and staff are vulnerable. We know what works to prevent the spread of COVD-19 at nursing homes and as we head into the fall and flu season, compliance with infection and adequate supplies of PPE will be critically important.”

Of the 39 new deaths reported Thursday, 13 people that passed away were over the age of 80 years old, 11 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, 12 people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, and one person who died was between the ages of 30 and 49 years old. Thirty-five people who died had underlying health conditions including 13 people over the age of 80, nine people between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, 12 people between the ages of 50 and 64 years old and one person between the ages of 30 and 49 years old. Two deaths were reported by the city of Long Beach.

Ninety-two percent of the people who died from COVID-19 had underlying health conditions. Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 6,074 people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health); 51% of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 23% 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. Upon further investigation, 84 cases and seven deaths reported earlier were not L.A. County residents.

Testing results are available for more than 2,592,000 individuals with 9% of all people testing positive. There are 753 confirmed cases currently hospitalized and 28% of these people are confirmed cases in the ICU.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, Public Health continues to encourage participation with case investigation and contact tracing efforts to help slow the spread of COVID-19. To date, over 130,000 people who are or were positive for COVID-19 completed the case investigation interview process. Over 78,000 of their close contacts or people that were exposed to the virus were contacted and completed interviews. Obtaining as much information as possible from people during the case investigation interview helps contain this virus and minimize outbreaks, and it is a crucial part of protecting the health of communities.

We encourage anyone who receives a call from Public Health to speak to our contact tracers. If a contact tracer calls, it will display on your phone as “LA Public Health” or as 833-641-0305.

Public Health has a dedicated call line for confirmed cases of COVID-19. If you are positive with COVID-19 and have not yet connected with a public health specialist or need more information on services, call toll-free at 1-833-540-0473. Residents who do not have COVID-19 should continue to call 211 for resources or more information.

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

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.

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.

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)

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 Sept. 21, 88 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.

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. 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 about double their population representation across all adult age categories. For Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, overall numbers are low, but about three-fold difference 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.

New Data Portal
The state has launched a new, user-friendly data portal at COVID-19 Statewide Update that tracks COVID-19 cases statewide and by county, gender, age and ethnicity. The portal also outlines statewide hospitalizations and testing efforts. The data presented on the portal will be updated daily and will include additional information as it is available.

Your Actions Save Lives
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 such 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.

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.

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