The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Thursday 29 new deaths and 5,031 new cases of COVID-19, including 8,634 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley. This is the highest number of daily new cases L.A. County has experienced throughout the pandemic. Over the last two days, there have been a total of 8,975 new cases reported; a 2-day average of nearly 4,500 daily new cases.

Update: Thursday’s total for the Santa Clarita Valley has been updated. The initial number reported was 8,673 and has been corrected to 8,634.

To date, Public Health identified 353,232 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County, and it is certain that many more have been infected; we have experienced a total of 7,363 deaths.

The County is experiencing a dangerous acceleration of cases that is increasing at a higher rate than the July surge. From June 20 through July 3, the 7-day average increase in new cases was 47%. From October 28 through November 10, the 7-day average increase in new cases is surging at 68%.

There are 1,238 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 28% of these people are in the ICU. The daily number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 has increased nearly every day since November 2 when daily hospitalizations were 777.

COVID-19 affects different systems in the body and can cause health effects that linger for months. COVID-19 often causes a pneumonia that can be serious. The type of pneumonia associated with COVID-19 can cause long-standing damage to the tiny air sacs (alveoli) in the lungs. The resulting scar tissue can lead to long-term breathing problems.

Heart conditions are also associated with COVID-19, and include inflammation and damage to the heart muscle itself. Imaging tests taken months after recovery from COVID-19 patients have shown lasting damage to the heart muscle, even in people who experienced only mild COVID-19 symptoms. This may increase the risk of heart failure or other heart complications in the future.

Note: California COVID-19 data for Thursday, Nov. 19 was still unavailable as of deadline. However, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a new and limited Stay at Home order, which you can read more about [here].

Santa Clarita Valley Thursday Update
As of 4:30 p.m. Thursday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard, remains unchanged from Wednesday with 80 deaths in the Santa Clarita Valley since the pandemic began.

Of those 80 SCV residents who have died, 65 lived in Santa Clarita, 6 in Castaic, 3 in Acton, 3 in Stevenson Ranch, 1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon, 1 in Val Verde, and 1 in unincorporated Valencia.

Of the 8,634 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 5,423

Castaic: 2,298 (includes Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility*)

Stevenson Ranch: 256

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 198

Val Verde: 113

Acton: 98

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 59

Agua Dulce: 54

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 46

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 31

Bouquet Canyon: 16

Saugus/Canyon Country: 12

Elizabeth Lake: 10

Lake Hughes: 10

Sand Canyon: 7

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 3

*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, Nov. 18, of the 11,502 people tested at Henry Mayo to date, 1,188 tested positive, 13,932 were negative, 10 were pending, 20 patients were hospitalized in a dedicated unit receiving ICU-level care (one fewer than last week), a total of 348 COVID-19 patients have been treated and discharged so far, hospital spokesman Patrick Moody said.

The number of patients who died at the hospital due to COVID-19 stands at 35, he confirmed.

Discrepancies in the testing numbers at the hospital are due to some patients being tested multiple times.

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.

Henry Mayo releases complete statistics weekly, generally on Wednesdays, unless a new death or drastic change in numbers, occurs.

L.A. County

“We send our deepest condolences to the many people across our County grieving a family member or friend who has passed away due to COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Right now, the kindest thing we can do for our family, friends and neighbors is to protect each other from potentially becoming infected with COVID-19. As cases are surging and hospitalizations are increasing, we need to stay home as much as possible, protect those who are elderly or have underlying health conditions, and stop gathering with people not in our households.”

Celebrating the holidays will be very different this year. The safest way is to celebrate only with members of your household, meaning those with whom you currently live with, and to connect virtually with other friends and family who live outside of your household. Other safe options include decorating your home and enjoying a drive around neighborhoods seeing other decorations. Public Health also recommends to shop early for groceries and other needed items to avoid crowds or have groceries delivered to you.

Exercise is important for both physical and mental health, and exercising outdoors is a great option. We encourage you to take advantage of our wonderful trails and beaches. If you are walking or jogging in an area with other people around, please wear a face covering and practice distancing of at least 6 feet.

It is crucial businesses understand, implement and follow all safety protocols closely and ensure adherence with all Health Officer Order directives including operating hours, occupancy, masking, infection control and distancing requirements, ensuring there are no crowded spaces or places, report outbreaks of three or more cases, and allow employees to work from home as much as possible.

Employees are reminded if you need to go onsite to work, wear a face covering, practice distancing and follow all other infection control requirements. If you have concerns about your workplace following safety protocols that keep you and customers safe, you can anonymously call the customer call center at (888) 700-9995, Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Of the 29 new deaths reported Thursday, 12 people that passed away were over the age of 80 years old, eight people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, and seven people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64 years old. Eighteen people who died had underlying health conditions including eight people over the age of 80 years old, five people between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, and five people between the ages of 50 and 64 years old. Two deaths were reported by the city of Long Beach.

Ninety-three 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 6,947 people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health); 52% of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 23% among White residents, 14% among Asian residents, 9% 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, 135 cases and one death reported earlier were not L.A. County residents.

Testing results are available for nearly 3,473,000 individuals with 9% 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/See note above

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)

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.