The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Thursday 52 new deaths and 710 new cases of COVID-19, with 27,417 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

To date, Public Health identified 1,223,791 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 23,388 deaths.

There are 572 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 24% of these people are in the ICU. The number of daily hospitalizations has remained under 600 since April 3. The five-day average of daily hospitalizations is 575.

Cases Among Pregnant Women
Cases among pregnant women in L.A. County have dropped significantly. During the surge in December, weekly cases increased to over 400 cases a week for two consecutive weeks. During the week ending on March 28, there were 9 cases reported among pregnant women. As of April 6, there have been a total of 11 deaths among 7,280 pregnant women who tested positive for COVID-19. Seventy-eight percent of pregnant women testing positive for COVID-19 are Latina/Latinx, 10% are White, 5% are African American/Black, 4% are Asian. Among the 5,779 births where there was testing information, 51 infants tested positive for the virus.

Pregnant women and women who are breastfeeding can choose to get the COVID-19 vaccine with any of the three vaccines. If you are an expecting mom or new mom and have questions about getting vaccinated, speak with your healthcare provider. While a conversation with your healthcare provider may be helpful, it is not required prior to vaccination.

California Thursday Snapshot
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) confirmed Thursday 3,588,152 confirmed cases and 58,788 deaths to date. There are 1,960 confirmed hospitalizations and 491 ICU hospitalizations in the state.

On Thursday, the state updated the Blueprint for a Safer Economy, outlining that the weekly tier assessment will consider both a county’s adjusted case rate and test positivity, as well as hospitalization data, in determining whether a county should remain in a less restrictive tier. If CDPH determines there are objective signs of stability or improvement in the data, the county may remain in the less restrictive tier. Unless there are extenuating circumstances, such as low rate of vaccine take up, a county will only move to a more restrictive tier if hospitalizations are increasing significantly among vulnerable individuals, especially among vaccinated individuals, and both test positivity and adjusted case rates show a concerning increase in transmission.

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

There were 2,093 newly recorded confirmed cases Wednesday.

The 7-day positivity rate is 1.9%.

There have been 55,610,191 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 126,557 during the prior 24-hour reporting period.

As of April 8, providers have reported administering a total of 21,483,192 vaccine doses statewide. The CDC reports that 26,966,680 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.

Note: As part of an ongoing statewide vaccination data and integrity initiative, approximately 400,000 vaccines were added to the data after the regular morning daily update on April 7. These doses represent a number of records that were corrected by providers but not previously counted between March 11 and April 6, 2021.

Health Care Worker Infection Rates
As of April 7, local health departments have reported 103,952 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 444 deaths statewide.

Santa Clarita Valley Thursday Update
As of 4:30 p.m. Thursday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard remained unchanged from Wednesday, recording 297 deaths (adjusted from 299 last week) among Santa Clarita Valley residents to date.

The following is the community breakdown of the 297 SCV residents who have died, according to the L.A. County dashboard:

256 lived in Santa Clarita (adjusted from 258 on Friday)

17 in Castaic

6 in Acton

5 in Stevenson Ranch

3 in Agua Dulce (adjusted from 4 on Friday)

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 Val Verde

1 in Valencia

Of the 27,417 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 20,073

Castaic: 3,699

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

Stevenson Ranch: 1,125

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 829

Acton: 462

Val Verde: 335

Agua Dulce: 272

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 189

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, three patients were hospitalized in a dedicated COVID-19 unit receiving ICU-level care, and a total of 1,198 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.

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

Of the 52 new deaths reported Thursday, 15 people that passed away were over the age of 80, 22 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, nine people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, and two people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49. Three deaths were reported by the city of Pasadena and one death was reported by the city of Long Beach.

“To everyone who has lost a loved one or friend to COVID-19, our deepest sympathies go out to you,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “By continuing to take action to reduce transmission and get vaccinated, we are making great progress keeping cases and hospitalizations low. It is still too early to think we are out of the woods because, even if you have been vaccinated, many others have not yet had a chance. Transmission is moderate in L.A. County with a number of variants of concern circulating; the risk for increases in cases is real if we let down our guard.”

Testing results are available for nearly 6,163,000 individuals with 18% of people testing positive. Thursday’s daily test positivity rate is 1.4%.

On April 15, vaccines become available to any resident in Los Angeles County who is 16 and older. Public Health is committed on ensuring an equitable distribution of vaccines and ensuring eligible residents and workers in hard hit communities have increased access to vaccines.

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). Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status.

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

Vaccine Eligibility Update

With supply of vaccines expected to significantly increase in the coming weeks, the state is expanding vaccine eligibility to more Californians. Starting April 1, individuals 50 and over will be eligible to make an appointment, and individuals 16 and over will be eligible to make an appointment to be vaccinated starting on April 15. 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 6

2 counties in the Purple (widespread) Tier

22 counties in the Red (substantial) Tier

32 counties in Orange (moderate) Tier

2 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

Updated Travel Advisory
California updated its travel advisory on April 1, removing the previous recommendation that Californians not travel more than 120 miles from ones’ place of residence. Postponing travel and staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from COVID-19, and Californians should continue to avoid non-essential travel outside of the state. 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.

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.

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 March 21 – March 27, 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 98% 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 April 6, there have been 448 case cases 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.