Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued a Health Officer Order Thursday requiring that healthcare workers working in L.A. County be fully vaccinated by Sept. 30 of this year.

This Order aligns with the State Order and applies to volunteers, contractors, and students, in addition to part and full-time employees and health care facilities. The County Order also includes emergency medical technicians and paramedics, dental office workers, and home health workers. Exemptions to this requirement will be allowed only for qualifying medical or religious reasons, and exempt workers must be tested one to two times a week depending on the type of facility in which they work. Additionally, exempt workers must wear respiratory protection at all times. This can be in the form of medical grade masks or respirators such as N95s.

On Thursday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is expected to amend its emergency use authorization for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to allow people with compromised immune systems to get a third, booster dose of the vaccines. This recommendation is based on several studies showing that people on immunosuppressive medication’s develop low or no levels of protection after two doses of vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices could vote on recommending third doses to immunocompromised people as early as tomorrow. Public Health will be working with the State to prepare for implementation of the expanded authorization.

Public Health also confirmed Thursday confirms 23 new deaths and 3,865 new cases of COVID-19 countywide, with 31,439 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

Of the 23 new deaths reported Thursday, six people who passed away were over the age of 80, seven people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, seven people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, and two people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49. One death was reported by the city of Long Beach. To date, Public Health identified 1,339,138 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 24,854 deaths.

The County’s average case rate, with a 3-day lag, is 27.8 cases per 100,000 people, a significant increase from last week’s same-day rate of 21.1 cases per 100,000. Cases have been reported at an average rate of more than 3,000 cases a day for about the past week.

Testing results are available for nearly 7,600,000 individuals with 16% of people testing positive. Today’s test positivity rate is 4.5%, a slight decrease from last week’s same-day rate of 4.7%. As schools and institutes of higher education return to session and their routine testing programs come back online, we expect to see hundreds of thousands more test results each week and in parallel with those, increases in cases.

There are 1,648 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 22% of these people are in the ICU. Comparing August 4 with July 4, hospitalizations rose by 366%.

Delta Variant
The Delta variant now accounts for nearly all the COVID-19 strains seen among samples sequenced in the Los Angeles County area, last week comprising 99% of all sequenced strains. The Delta variant is more efficiently transmitted between people, likely due to its faster replication, higher viral load, and greater affinity for lower respiratory tract cells compared with earlier COVID-19 strains. And while emerging data affirms that fully vaccinated people are well protected from severe infections with Delta variants, it now is clear that fully vaccinated people can become infected, and if infected with Delta, can infect others.

**More from Los Angeles County Public Health further below**

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital Thursday Update
As of Thursday, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital had zero tests pending, 39 patients hospitalized, a total of 1,348 patients treated and discharged since the pandemic began, with no additional deaths, hospital spokesman Patrick Moody confirmed.

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.

Santa Clarita Valley Thursday Update
As of 5:30 p.m. Thursday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard remained unchanged from Wednesday, with a total 312 COVID-19 related deaths in the SCV since the pandemic began.

The following is the community breakdown of the 312 SCV residents who have died, according to the L.A. County dashboard:

269 in Santa Clarita

16 in Castaic (**revised initially from 18)

6 in Acton

6 in Stevenson Ranch

5 in unincorporated Canyon Country

3 in Agua Dulce

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 31,439 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 23,058

Castaic: 4,025

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

Stevenson Ranch: 1,400

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 971

Acton: 570

Val Verde: 369

Agua Dulce: 333

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 230

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 146

Elizabeth Lake: 89

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 69

Bouquet Canyon: 53

Lake Hughes: 43

Saugus/Canyon Country: 46

Sand Canyon: 18

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 15

Placerita Canyon: 4

*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.

L.A. County

“To all those who have lost friends, loved ones, and family, our thoughts and hearts are with you, and we wish you comfort and peace during this difficult time,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “We thank all the establishments and businesses that are implementing safety recommendations, including requiring attendees to be vaccinated and layering masking and distancing as appropriate. These efforts make it easier for us to enjoy the activities we love. As we gain new understandings every day about how the Delta variant spreads, much of what we’re learning affirms that it spreads more easily, and this is why we need to move swiftly to improve vaccination rates. The evidence continues to show that vaccines provide excellent protection against severe outcomes from Delta infection, and that the same sensible precautions that protected us from earlier strains of COVID-19 are still very effective against this latest strain. We are fortunate to have the tools at hand that we need to get back to slowing the spread of Delta; we will just need to accept that as the virus changes, we need to be flexible with our responses to reflect the changing science. Even if you are fully vaccinated, use caution in crowded and indoor settings, especially around unvaccinated people outside your household, and remember that distancing and masking add layers of protection. If there are people in your household that cannot be vaccinated, you may want to take extra precautions when you are among people outside your household and assess how much risk there may be at events or activities you are planning to attend.”

As of August 8, more than 11,326,288 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to people across Los Angeles County. Of these, 6,292,215 were first doses and 5,034,073 were second doses. Eighty-nine percent of L.A. County seniors 65 and over, 73% of residents 16 and over, 72% of residents 12 and over have received one dose of vaccine. Sixty-three percent of residents 12 and over have been fully vaccinated. Of L.A. County teens between the ages of 12 and 17, 56% have received at least one dose and 44% are fully vaccinated Of the nearly 10.3 million L.A. County residents, including those who are not yet eligible for the vaccine, 54% are fully vaccinated and 62% have received at least one dose.

Among the 5.1 million fully vaccinated people in L.A. County, Public Health identified 21,532 people fully vaccinated who tested positive for COVID-19 as of August 10; this is less than 1% of all those vaccinated. Of those who tested positive, 549 were hospitalized, up from 446 the week prior. This translates to 0.01% of all fully vaccinated people ending up hospitalized. Deaths in this group over this interval also increased, from 41 to 55, to 0.0011%. These small increases provide proof that fully vaccinated people do become infected and that with the very high rates of community transmission, more fully vaccinated people are getting post vaccination infections. However, this data should also provide significant reassurance that fully vaccinated people remain at relatively low risk for becoming infected and even lower risk for having a bad outcome if they are infected.

L.A. County continues to offer vaccines at many different sites across the county to make it as easy as possible for eligible L.A. County residents to get vaccinated. Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status.

To find a vaccination site near you, to make an appointment at vaccination sites, and much more, Visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish) If you don’t have internet access, can’t use a computer, or you’re over 65, you can call 1-833-540-0473 for help finding an appointment or scheduling a home-visit if you are homebound. Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status.

County Reopening Protocols, COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard, COVID-19 Surveillance Interactive Dashboard, Roadmap to Recovery, Recovery Dashboard, and additional actions you can take to protect yourself, your family and your community are on the Public Health website, www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

California Thursday

California Department of Public Health confirmed Thursday 3,980,172 cases and 64,037 deaths to date. There are 6,629 confirmed hospitalizations and 1,504 ICU hospitalizations in the state.

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

There were 10,450 newly reported confirmed cases Wednesday.

Cases are increasing statewide, largely among unvaccinated populations.

– For the week of August 7, the average case rate among unvaccinated Californians is 51 per 100,000 per day and the average case rate among vaccinated Californians is significantly lower at 8.2 per 100,000 per day.

– The vast majority of new cases are among the unvaccinated with 600% higher case rates among the unvaccinated than for those who are vaccinated.

The 7-day positivity rate is 6.5%

There have been 76,214,542 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 170,150 during the prior 24-hour reporting period.

As of August 12, according to the CDC, 77.6% of eligible Californians have received at least one dose. Providers have reported to CDPH that a total of 45,019,888 vaccine doses have been administered statewide. 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 Workers

As of Aug. 11, local health departments have reported 118,325 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 483 deaths statewide.

Stop the Spread: Get Vaccinated for COVID-19

The risk for COVID-19 exposure and infection continues as a number of Californians remain unvaccinated. With the emergence of the more transmissible Delta variant, there is a renewed urgency to get all eligible Californians vaccinated as quickly as possible and complete their two-dose vaccination process if they are receiving Pfizer or Moderna.

CDPH is reminding unvaccinated Californians that the COVID-19 vaccine is safe, free and provides excellent protection from severe COVID-19 illness, including the Delta variant, hospitalization, and death.

Individuals aged 12+ are eligible for vaccination. Visit myturn.ca.gov to make an appointment. Individuals aged 17 and younger may need the consent of a parent or legal guardian for vaccination. Visit Vaccinate All 58 to learn more about the safe and effective vaccines available.

Testing Turnaround Time

The testing turnaround time dashboard reports how long California patients are waiting for COVID-19 test results. During the week of Aug. 1 to Aug. 7, the average time patients waited for test results was one day. During this same time period, 79% of patients received test results in one day and 94% received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

As of Aug. 9 there have been 589 cases of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) 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.

Keep California Healthy
Protect yourself, family, friends and your community by following these prevention measures:

– Get vaccinated when it’s your turn. Californians age 16+ are eligible to make an appointment.

– If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 (fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle or body aches), call your health care provider.

– If you believe you have been exposed, get tested. Free, confidential testing is available statewide.

– Keep gatherings small and outdoors and follow state and local public health guidance.

– Wear a mask and get the most out of masking – an effective mask has both good fit and good filtration.

– Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

– Delay non-essential travel outside of California until you are fully vaccinated. Follow California’s travel advisory.

– Avoid close contact with people who are sick and stay home from work and school if you feel ill.

– Add your phone to the fight by signing up for COVID-19 exposure notifications from CA Notify.

– Answer the call or text if a contact tracer from the CA COVID Team or your local health department tries to connect.

Additional data and udpates:

Tracking COVID-19 in California

State Dashboard – Daily COVID-19 data

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 Race & Ethnicity Data – Weekly updated Race & Ethnicity data

Cases and Deaths by Age Group – Weekly updated Deaths by Age Group data

Health Equity Dashboard – See how COVID-19 highlights existing inequities in health

Tracking Variants – Data on the variants California is currently monitoring

Safe Schools for All Hub – Information about safe in-person instruction

School Districts Reopening Map – data on public schools and reported outbreaks

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.