The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Thursday 36 new deaths and 439 new cases of COVID-19, with 27,626 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

To date, Public Health identified 1,230,362 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 23,736 deaths.

Of the 36 new deaths reported Thursday, 16 people that passed away were over the age of 80, 10 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, and 10 people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64.

There are 468 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 24% of these people are in the ICU. Testing results are available for nearly 6,380,000 individuals with 18% of people testing positive. Thursday’s daily test positivity rate is 0.9%.

Starting Thursday, April 22, Public Health is offering a limited number of walk-in registration spots at County-run mass vaccination sites through Monday, April 26 while supply lasts. Anyone 16 and older living or working in Los Angeles County can now get vaccinated without booking an appointment at the following locations (teens 16 and 17 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian). Registration for COVID-19 appointments will be completed on-site.
Vaccination sites accepting walk-ups include:

College of the Canyons (in partnership with Curative)
25000 Valencia Blvd
Santa Clarita, CA 91355
7 days a week, 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Palmdale Oasis Recreation Center (in partnership with Curative)
3850 East Avenue S
Palmdale, CA 93550
7 days a week, 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

The Forum
3900 W Manchester Blvd
Inglewood, CA 90305
7 days a week, 9:00 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.

The Balboa Sports Complex
17015 Burbank Blvd
Encino, CA 91316
Tuesday – Saturday, 8:30 a.m.- 3:00 p.m.

Cal State Northridge
18343 Plummer Street
Northridge, CA 91325
7 days a week, 9:00 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.

Eugene A Obregon Park – Gymnasium
4021 East 1st Street
Los Angeles, CA 90063
Tuesday – Saturday, 8:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m.

Pomona Fairplex
2370 East Arrow Highway, (Gate 15)
La Verne, CA 91750
7 days a week, 9:00 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.

L.A. County Office of Education
12830 Columbia Way
Downey, CA 90242
7 days a week, 9:00 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.

California Thursday Snapshot
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) confirmed Thursday 3,624,838 confirmed cases and 59,992 deaths to date. There are 1,752 confirmed hospitalizations and 435 ICU hospitalizations in the state.

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

There were 2,411 newly recorded confirmed cases Wednesday.

The 7-day positivity rate is 1.5%.

There have been 58,457,133 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 254,720 during the prior 24-hour reporting period.

As of April 22, providers have reported administering a total of 26,823,157 vaccine doses statewide. The CDC reports that 34,013,640 doses have been delivered to entities within the state. Numbers do not represent true day-to-day change as reporting may be delayed. For more vaccination data, visit the COVID-19 Vaccine Data Dashboard.

Health Care Worker Infection Rates
As of April 21, local health departments have reported 106,469 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 451 deaths statewide.

Santa Clarita Valley Thursday Update
As of 4:30 p.m. Thursday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard remains unchanged from Wednesday, recording 299 deaths among Santa Clarita Valley residents to date.

The following is the community breakdown of the 299 SCV residents who have died, according to the L.A. County dashboard:

257 in Santa Clarita

17 in Castaic

6 in Acton

6 in Stevenson Ranch

3 in Agua Dulce

3 in unincorporated Canyon Country

1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon

1 in Elizabeth Lake

1 in Lake Hughes

1 in Newhall

1 in unincorporated Saugus/Canyon Country

1 in Valencia

1 in Val Verde

Of the 27,626 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 20,230

Castaic: 3,719

(includes Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility*)

Stevenson Ranch: 1,133

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 838

Acton: 469

Val Verde: 336

Agua Dulce: 278

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 190

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 128

Elizabeth Lake: 76

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 68

Bouquet Canyon: 47

Lake Hughes: 42

Saugus/Canyon Country: 39

Sand Canyon: 17

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 15

Placerita Canyon: 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 Newhall Hospital Thursday Update
As of Thursday, there were zero cases pending, 8 patients were hospitalized in a dedicated COVID-19 unit, and a total of 1,216 patients had been treated and discharged since the pandemic began, hospital spokesman Patrick Moody said.

There were no additional deaths, keeping the total deaths at 147 people to date. The most recent death was March 21.

“As you can see from the number of patients we have here, the pandemic is not yet over,” Moody said Tuesday. “We encourage everyone to remain cautious and follow safe practices.”

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.

L.A. County

“To the friends and families grieving the loss of a loved one to COVID-19, we are deeply sorry for your loss and wish you peace,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Although transmission has been slowed in Los Angeles County, people are still dying every day from COVID-19. If you aren’t vaccinated, your chances of dying from COVID-19 is about 1 in 500. If you get vaccinated, your chances of dying from COVID-19 are less than 1 in a million. The more people vaccinated, the less deaths we will suffer. Even if you had COVID-19 and recovered, you still need to get vaccinated to have more complete and longer-lasting protection.”

Public Health will host a Virtual Town Hall on COVID-19 Vaccines on Tuesday, April 27, at 6:00 p.m. Join the town hall to learn more and hear updates. The town hall will be streamed live on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube @lapublichealth. For more information and to submit a question, visit: tinyurl.com/DPHVaccineTownHall

Everyone living or working in L.A. County 16 and older is eligible for COVID-19 vaccine.

For information about vaccine appointments in L.A. County and when your turn is coming up, to sign up for a vaccination newsletter, and much more, visit www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish).

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 Thursday on COVID-19, including updated data and tiers for reducing COVID-19 in the state under the Blueprint for a Safer Economy.

Updated Activity & Business Tiers Chart

The Addendum to Blueprint Activity & Business Tiers Chart has been updated to shorten the distance between fully vaccinated-only sections and any other section in a venue to at least 6 feet (previously 12 feet). The chart also aligns with current guidance to allow outdoor food and drink concessions if physical distancing is maintained at all times. Indoor concessions must be closed unless otherwise permitted in Orange and Yellow Tiers.

Increased Transparency and Updated School Reopening Maps

The school reopening maps on the Safe Schools Hub have been updated with self-reported data from school districts, charter schools, and private schools throughout the state. Schools are required to submit this data on the second and fourth Monday of each month. This is the first update with data pursuant to AB 86 and includes:

School-Level Data. Reopening status can be searched for and viewed not only on a district-wide basis, but also a school-by-school basis.

Enrollment Data. The maps display data not only on the instructional modes offered, but also on the number of students enrolled in different instructional modes: full time in-person, hybrid, and distance learning.

Note: The self-reported data may include some gaps in data and errors. The maps will be routinely updated to reflect new data, and the state will continue to improve data quality and visualizations.

Vaccine Eligibility Update

As of April 15, individuals aged 16+ are eligible to make an appointment to be vaccinated. To sign up for a notification when you’re eligible for a vaccine, please visit myturn.ca.gov. For more information on the vaccine effort, visit Vaccinate All 58.

Tracking Variants

Multiple variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 have been identified globally during the COVID-19 pandemic. These genetic mutations are expected, and some emerge and then disappear, while others persist or become common. Most variants do not have a meaningful impact. Public health becomes concerned about a variant when it affects COVID-19 transmission, severity, testing, treatment or vaccine effectiveness. Get more information on the variants CDPH is currently monitoring.

Blueprint for a Safer Economy
All counties are 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. As always, local public health departments may implement policies that are more restrictive than the state.

Blueprint Summary as of April 20

0 counties in the Purple (widespread) Tier

17 counties in the Red (substantial) Tier

38 counties in Orange (moderate) Tier

3 counties in Yellow (minimal) Tier

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

Additional Date and Updates

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

COVID-19 Household Survey

CDPH announced a research study to help better understand the spread of COVID-19 in California. In partnership with Stanford University, Gauss Surgical and seven county departments of public health, including Alameda, El Dorado, Kern, Los Angeles, Monterey, San Diego, and Shasta counties, CalScope will ask randomly selected households to complete an anonymous survey and a test using a finger-prick to draw a few drops of blood to see if they have COVID-19 antibodies. The study will not ask for identifying information such as name or date of birth. Mailed invitations will be sent to more than 45,000 households. For more information about the CalScope study, please visit the study website at CalScope.org.

Updated Travel Advisory
California updated its travel advisory on April 2. CDPH and the CDC recommend delaying travel until persons are fully vaccinated, because travel increases the chance of getting and spreading COVID-19. Unvaccinated persons should postpone travel and stay home to protect yourself and others from COVID-19, and unvaccinated Californians should continue to avoid non-essential travel outside of the state. Unvaccinated non-essential travelers from other states or countries are strongly discouraged from entering California and should follow CDC travel guidance related to testing and self-quarantine.

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. View the data for public schools by selecting a specific district on the School Districts Reopening Map. The map includes reported outbreaks since January 1, 2021.

New Testing Turnaround Time Dashboard
The testing turnaround dashboard reports how long California patients are waiting for COVID-19 test results. During the week of April 4 – April 10, the average time patients waited for test results was just under one day. During this same time period, 83% of patients received test results in one day and 97% received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)
As of April 19, there have been 484 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.

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.