The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed 262 new deaths, including an additional death at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, and 8,512 new cases of confirmed COVID-19 countywide, with 22,360 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

There are currently 7,263 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19, and 23% of these people are in the ICU.

To date, Public Health has identified 1,046,021 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 14,641 deaths. Last week, the seven-day average of new cases was 15,182. This week, the seven-day average of cases is 10,560, a decrease of 30 percent. Hospitalizations have also decreased this week, down 7 percent since last week Thursday.

*Providers can immediately resume the administration of lot 41L20A of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine*
On Wednesday, the California Department of Public Health issued a statement advising providers that they can immediately resume the administration of lot 41L20A of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, which was temporarily paused last Sunday due to possible allergic reactions in participants at a drive-through site in San Diego County. The Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup and additional allergy and immunology specialists convened yesterday to examine the evidence collected. They had further discussions with the County of San Diego Department of Public Health, the FDA, CDC and manufacturer, and found no scientific basis to continue the pause. Providers that paused vaccine administration from Moderna Lot 41L20A can immediately resume using this vaccine.

With this decision, more than 18,000 Moderna doses will be freed up and are now available for use at various facilities that had received them in Los Angeles County. These doses do not impact the large-scale County vaccination sites.

As a reminder, only Los Angeles County healthcare workers in Phase 1A or County residents aged 65 and older are eligible to get their vaccination. Appointments are mandatory. With limited COVID-19 vaccine supply, vaccination appointments are near or at capacity at L.A. County vaccination sites. Those who are currently eligible are encouraged to check back often as there may be cancelations. For those without access to a computer or the internet, a call center is open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. to help schedule appointments at 833-540-0473. Individuals are encouraged to use the website whenever possible to sign up for an appointment to avoid long wait times on the phone.

County residents and healthcare workers in Phase 1A must show identification and documentation of their eligibility at the time of their appointment. Those without documentation will need to be turned away, even if they have an appointment. Information on accepted forms of identification and documentation can be found on the Public Health website appointment page.

Please do not register for an appointment if you are not in a currently eligible group. Doing so will take an appointment away from those at increased risk.

To find out when it’s your turn to get vaccinated, residents can visit MyTurn.ca.gov. If it isn’t your turn yet, you can register to be notified when you become eligible.

While the County is operating five large-scale vaccination sites, in addition to L.A. City’s vaccination site at Dodger Stadium, most residents will ultimately be vaccinated at doctor’s offices, clinics, pharmacies, and other licensed community vaccination sites as more vaccine becomes available.

California Thursday Snapshot
Statewide, the California Department of Public Health confirmed a total of 3,039,044 cases, with 35,004 deaths from the disease. There are 19,537 confirmed hospitalizations and 4,670 ICU hospitalizations in California.

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

There were 19,673 newly recorded confirmed cases Wednesday.

The 7-day positivity rate is 9.3% and the 14-day positivity rate is 11.0%.

There have been 39,512,756 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 224,393 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. 20, providers have reported administering a total of 1,626,542 vaccine doses statewide. Numbers do not represent true day-to-day change as reporting may be delayed. As of Jan. 20, a total of 4,245,700 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. 20, local health departments have reported 81,268 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 307 deaths statewide.

Santa Clarita Valley Thursday Update
As of 6:45 p.m. Thursday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard, recorded 160 deaths among Santa Clarita Valley residents since the pandemic began, but had not yet included the 6 most recent deaths reported by Henry Mayo.

Of the 166 SCV residents who have died, 136 lived in Santa Clarita, 9 in Castaic, 5 in Acton, 4 in Stevenson Ranch, 3 in unincorporated Canyon Country, 1 in Agua Dulce, 1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon, 1 in Val Verde, and 6 in communities not yet named.

Of the 22,360 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 16,204

Castaic: 3,313 (includes Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility*)

Stevenson Ranch: 874

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 651

Acton: 371

Val Verde: 250

Agua Dulce: 191

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 148

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 110

Elizabeth Lake: 65

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 59

Bouquet Canyon: 38

Lake Hughes: 34

Saugus/Canyon Country: 26

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 reported an additiondal death from COVID-19 Thursday, bringing the hospital’s total to 104, hospital spokesman Patrick Moody said.

As of Thursday, Henry Mayo released the following data:

– 6 tests were pending

– 82 patients were hospitalized in dedicated COVID-19 units receiving ICU-level care

– 927 have been treated and discharged so far

Discrepancies in the testing numbers at the hospital are due to some patients being tested multiple times, 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 know there are people across our community who have suffered tremendous loss. For those of you mourning the passing of a loved one, we wish you healing and peace,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “The process of getting everyone in L.A. county vaccinated will take several months and depends on vaccine availability. This is the most expansive vaccination campaign in recent history and further complicated by cold chain requirements and the need for two doses. We are asking everyone to be patient while we work through the rollout of our currently limited supply of vaccine from the State. Our team is working very hard to ensure that once we receive vaccine doses they are distributed quickly through a vast network of private and public partners.”

Of the 230 deaths reported Thursday (not including Long Beach and Pasadena), 74 people that passed away were over the age of 80 years old, 84 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, 56 people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64 years old and 16 people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49 years old. Of the deaths reported today, 180 deaths were people with underlying health conditions, including 57 people who were over the age of 80 years old, 68 people who were between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, 45 people between the ages of 50 and 64 years old and 10 people between the ages of 30 and 49 years old. Twenty-seven deaths were reported today by the city of Long Beach and five deaths were reported by the city of Pasadena.

Of the total number of people who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 13,723 people; 52% of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 24% among White residents, 13% among Asian residents, 8% among African American/Black residents, less than 1% among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander residents and 2% among residents identifying with other races. Upon further investigation, 583 cases and five deaths reported earlier were not L.A. County residents.

Testing results are available for more than 5,303,000 individuals with 19% of all 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

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released the most recent statistics on COVID-19, including data on intensive care unit (ICU) capacity across the state.

Projected ICU capacity remains below 15% in the Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley and Southern California regions which remain under the Regional Stay at Home Order. The order will be lifted for a region once its four-week ICU projection shows a capacity of greater than or equal to 15%. Re-entry framework for a region that has recently exited the Regional Stay at Home Order is being finalized.

Current Status of Regional Stay at Home Order in Affected Regions

San Joaquin Valley: Remains under order; four-week ICU capacity projections do not meet criteria to exit order.

Southern California: Remains under order; four-week ICU capacity projections do not meet criteria to exit order.

Bay Area: Remains under order; four-week ICU capacity projections do not meet criteria to exit order.

The ICU capacity projections are based on four factors: current estimated regional ICU capacity available, measure of current community transmission, current regional case rates and the proportion of ICU cases being admitted. Decreasing community transmission and increasing the health system capacity can help a region’s projected ICU capacity so they can exit the order.

Counties within the Greater Sacramento and Northern California regions are under the tiering system and rules of the Blueprint for a Safer Economy. Read the full Regional Stay at Home Order, Supplement to the Order, and frequently asked questions.

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

Hospital Surge Order

CDPH updated the Hospital Surge Public Health Order to clarify when hospitals must make notifications to state and local authorities on Jan. 15. The update included technical updates and updates on when specific terms of the order take effect. The updated order continues to require some non-essential and non-life-threatening surgeries to be delayed in counties with 10% or less of ICU capacity under the Regional Stay at Home Order where the regional ICU capacity is at 0%. Examples of procedures that may be delayed include carpal tunnel release and non-urgent spine surgeries. Surgeries for patients who have serious and urgent medical conditions will continue. Examples of procedures that will continue include serious cancer removal and necessary heart surgeries.

The order requires hospitals statewide to accept patient transfers from facilities that have implemented contingency or crisis care guidelines as long as those transfers can be done capably and safely. On December 28, 2020 CDPH provided guidance to health care facilities on implementing the Crisis Care Continuum Guidelines issued in June 2020.

Counties Currently Impacted by the Hospital Surge Order:

San Joaquin Valley: Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Benito, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Tulare.

Southern California: Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Ventura

Variant Update
On Jan. 17, the California Department of Public Health and the University of California, San Francisco announced several California counties where the L452R variant of COVID-19 has been detected, including San Luis Obispo county. Upon further examination, it was determined that the variant has not yet been identified in San Luis Obispo county, as previously reported

Updated Travel Advisory
CDPH has issued an updated travel advisory. Except in connection with essential travel, Californians should avoid non-essential travel to any part of California more than 120 miles from one’s place of residence, or to other states or countries. Avoiding travel reduces the risk of virus transmission, including by reducing the risk that new sources of infection and, potentially, new virus strains will be introduced to California. 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.

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 Jan. 3 – Jan. 9, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.4 days. During this same time period, 62% of patients received test results in one day and 90% 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. 18, 176 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.