The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Thursday 19 new deaths and 414 new cases of COVID-19, with 27,744 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

To date, Public Health identified 1,234,746 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 23,966 deaths.

Of the 19 new deaths reported Thursday, five people that passed away were over the age of 80, nine people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, two people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, and one person who died was between the ages of 30 and 49. Two deaths were reported by the city of Long Beach.

There are 387 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 24% of these people are in the ICU. COVID-19 testing results are available for more than 6,546,000 individuals with 18% of people testing positive. Today’s daily test positivity rate is 0.7%.

Los Angeles County’s case rate remains low and stable. On March 28, the County was seeing 424 cases a day. A month later, on April 28, the number of new cases dropped 35% to 276 cases a day. Over the same time interval, daily hospitalizations dropped 37%. Daily deaths dropped dramatically by 82% over the same time period, from 17 on March 28 to three on April 28.

As of May 2, more than 8,096,752 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to people across Los Angeles County. Of these, 5,013,679 were first doses and 3,083,073 were second doses. Overall, 39% of L.A. County residents are fully vaccinated. By age group two-thirds of seniors 65 and older and one-third of adults 16 to 64 are fully vaccinated.

Among people 65 and older, 82% have received at least one dose of the vaccine. Since February, the County increased the proportion of Black/African American adults over 65 who received at least one dose of the vaccine by over 200%, Latino/Latinx adults by 160%, American Indian and Alaska Native adults by over 150%, and Asian adults by over 108%.

Overall, 52% of residents 16 to 64 years old have received at least one dose of the vaccine. Since February, the County’s biggest improvements in vaccination rates have been among members of Latinx (593%), Black (414%), and American Indian and Alaska Native (406%) communities, where the percent of adults with one dose of vaccine increased many times over.

When most of the community is vaccinated, and therefore immune from having or spreading a bad infection, transmission drops low enough that it becomes very unlikely the few unvaccinated people will have contact with an infected person and get sick. In the case of COVID-19, community immunity has the added benefit of reducing the chance that viral variants will emerge. The exact number the County needs to vaccinate to achieve community immunity is unknown– but what we do know is that reaching it requires everyone who can get vaccinated to do it.

California Thursday Snapshot
The California Department of Public Health confirmed Thursday 3,648,276 confirmed cases and 60,927 deaths to date. There are 1,544 confirmed hospitalizations and 378 ICU hospitalizations in the state.

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

There were 1,547 newly recorded confirmed cases Wednesday.

The 7-day positivity rate is 1.3%.

There have been 61,091,928 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 142,178 during the prior 24-hour reporting period.

As of May 6, providers have reported administering a total of 31,398,938 vaccine doses statewide. The CDC reports that 39,942,590 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 May 5, local health departments have reported 108,393 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 457 deaths statewide.

Santa Clarita Valley Thursday Update
As of 6:00 p.m. Thursday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard remains unchanged from Wednesday, recording a total of 303 deaths (revised from 304 deaths on Friday 4/30/2021) among Santa Clarita Valley residents.

The following is the community breakdown of the 303 SCV residents who have died, according to the L.A. County dashboard:

260 in Santa Clarita

*revised from 261 Friday 4/30/2021*

18 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 27,744 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 20,320

Castaic: 3,729

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

Stevenson Ranch: 1,138

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 841

Acton: 470

Val Verde: 337

Agua Dulce: 280

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 193

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 130

Elizabeth Lake: 76

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 68

Bouquet Canyon: 47

Lake Hughes: 42

Saugus/Canyon Country: 40

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 was one case pending, two patients were hospitalized in a dedicated COVID-19 unit, and a total of 1,229 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.

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

“Our hearts go out to everyone mourning the loss of a loved one and wish you healing and peace during this most difficult time,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. ” We, like many of you, are enthusiastic about the opportunities to get out more and do the activities we love and missed. We have reopened most sectors to some degree – and with all of the re-openings, more intermingling is taking place among members of the community. Transmission, can happen more easily and is more likely where there are crowds and unvaccinated people particularly indoors. We also must be aware that the more this virus spreads, the more opportunities it has to mutate – and the more it mutates, the greater the chance there will be a variant that can spread more quickly or cause more harm to the people it infects. Think of vaccines as a layer of protection against all of these risks. If we get enough vaccinations in enough arms across this county with enough speed, we can protect ourselves and others from these risks, while we get back to doing many of things we love without being afraid.”

Changes to the Health Officer Order took effect today, reflecting the County’s move into the yellow tier allowing for increased occupancy limits across a wide range of sectors with required safety modifications.

Fitness facilities, indoor dining, cardrooms and racetracks, movie theaters, family entertainment centers, breweries, wineries, and craft distilleries can expand indoor occupancy to 50%. Bars establishments are now allowed to open for indoor services at a maximum capacity of 25% or 100 people, whichever is fewer, with no counter seating/service. Amusement parks and fairs can increase capacity to 35%, and waterparks can expand to 40% capacity. Museums and aquariums can increase indoor capacity to 75%. Outdoor live performances and events can increase occupancy to 67% of capacity, while the occupancy limits at indoor live events depend on the total capacity of each venue and the vaccination and testing status of attendees.

Other sectors where capacity limits have increased include: private informal gatherings, where the occupancy limit has increased to 50% capacity or 50 people if indoors, whichever is fewer; outdoor gatherings are limited to 100 people. At community sporting events, participation is restricted to 500 people per hour and a total of 1,500 people; if everyone is vaccinated or has tested negative at an outdoor community sporting event, the capacity increases to 3000 people. Office-based businesses and workspaces should limit occupancy to 75% of capacity, unless all staff are vaccinated. Distancing and masking requirements remain in effect at worksites per CalOSHA requirements. At indoor malls, shopping centers, retail stores, hair salons, barbershops, personal care providers, libraries, and limited services, capacity remains limited to 75% to allow for at least 6 feet of distancing among staff and customers.

The Health Officer Order requires other modifications across a wide range of sectors. These are modifications focused on infection control, distancing and mask wearing. At all establishments serving food or drink, masking is mandated, except when eating or drinking. Distancing between tables is also still required and counter seating and service is not allowed. Television viewing is now permitted indoors, while live entertainment along with television is permitted outdoors.

COVID-19 vaccinations are available at County-run sites and many community sites without an appointment. Visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish) to find a vaccination site near you, to make an appointment at vaccination sites, and much more. 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

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

Vaccine Eligibility Update

Individuals age 16+ are eligible to make an appointment to be vaccinated. Visit myturn.ca.gov to make an appointment or visit Vaccinate All 58 to learn more about the safe and effective vaccines available.

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 May 4

0 counties in the Purple (widespread) Tier

12 counties in the Red (substantial) Tier

39 counties in Orange (moderate) Tier

7 counties in Yellow (minimal) Tier

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

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 18 to April 24, 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.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)
As of May 3, there have been 503 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.

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
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.

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.