The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Thursday 132 new deaths and 2,072 new cases of COVID-19, with 25,990 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

To date, Public Health identified 1,187,474 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 21,102 deaths.

There are 1,988 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 30% of these people are in the ICU. This is the first-time in three months that the daily number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 is less than 2,000 when there were 2,049 hospitalizations reported on Nov. 29.

L.A. County Reaches 100 MIS-C Cases in Children

Public Health is reporting 10 additional cases of multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), bringing the total cases in L.A. County to 100 children including one child death. L.A. County has experienced more than a 77% increase in children with MIS-C this past month; on January 23, Public Health reported 62 children with MIS-C. This increase in cases is a distressing delayed result of the surge we experienced in December and January. During the surge, there was a significant increase in children infected with COVID-19. Most children with MIS-C were infected with COVID-19 at some point prior to a MIS-C diagnosis.

All 100 children with MIS-C in L.A. County were hospitalized and 40% of the children were treated in the ICU. Of the children with MIS-C, 30% were under the age of 5 years old, 40% were between the ages of 5 and 11 years old, and 30% were between the ages of 12 and 20 years old. Latino/Latinx children account for 71% of the reported cases.

MIS-C is a serious inflammatory condition associated with COVID-19 that affects children under 21 years old. Symptoms include fever that does not go away and inflamed body parts, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs. If you believe your child is displaying MIS-C symptoms, contact your primary care or an urgent care provider. Seek emergency care for critical or life-threatening conditions. If you do not have a primary care provider, dial 2-1-1 and L.A. County will help connect you to one.

Of the 132 new deaths reported Tuesday, 41 people that passed away were over the age of 80, 42 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, 30 people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64 and nine people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49. Eight deaths were reported by the city of Long Beach and two deaths were reported by the city of Pasadena.

California Thursday Snapshot
Statewide, the California Department of Public Health confirmed a total of 3,460,326, with 50,991 deaths from the disease. There are 5,934 confirmed hospitalizations and 1,708 ICU hospitalizations in California.

*Note: Thursday’s death count includes a backlog of 806 deaths from Los Angeles County that were not initially recorded as COVID-19 deaths. The majority of these deaths occurred during the surge between Dec. 3, 2020 and Feb. 3, 2021.

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

There were 4,965 newly recorded confirmed cases Wednesday.

The 7-day positivity rate is 2.9% and the 14-day positivity rate is 3.1%.

There have been 47,814,160 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 161,988 during the prior 24-hour reporting period.

As case numbers continue to rise in California, the total number of individuals who will have serious outcomes will also increase.

As of Feb. 25, providers have reported administering a total of 8,003,120 vaccine doses statewide. Numbers do not represent true day-to-day change as reporting may be delayed. The CDC reports that 10,545,410 doses have been delivered to entities within the state, and 10,897,085 vaccine doses, which includes the first and second dose, have been shipped.

Health Care Worker Infection Rates
As of Feb. 24, local health departments have reported 94,331 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 396 deaths statewide.

Santa Clarita Valley Thursday Update
As of 3:30 p.m. Thursday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard recorded 261 deaths among Santa Clarita Valley residents since the pandemic began.

Of the 261 SCV residents who have died, the dashboard reports 225 lived in Santa Clarita, 14 in Castaic, 7 in Acton, 4 in Stevenson Ranch, 3 in Agua Dulce, 3 in unincorporated Canyon Country, 1 in Newhall, 1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon, 1 in Lake Hughes, 1 in Val Verde, and 1 in Valencia.

Of the 25,990 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 18,986

Castaic: 3,570

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

Stevenson Ranch: 1,045

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 786

Acton: 441

Val Verde: 308

Agua Dulce: 252

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 178

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 131

Elizabeth Lake: 74

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 66

Bouquet Canyon: 43

Lake Hughes: 40

Saugus/Canyon Country: 40

Sand Canyon: 15

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 14

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 Thursday Update

Note: The hospital did not release new data as of deadline Thursday.

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital reported one new death Wednesday from COVID-19, bringing the hospital’s total COVID-19 fatalities to 141 to date, according to hospital spokesman Patrick Moody.

As of Wednesday, no cases were pending, 17 patients were hospitalized in a dedicated COVID-19 unit receiving ICU-level care, and a total of 1,142 patients had been treated and discharged, Moody said.

Henry Mayo releases complete statistics weekly, usually on Wednesdays, unless one or more new deaths occur.

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 many families mourning a loved one who passed away from COVID-19, we send you our deepest condolences,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “We continue to experience the repercussions from the January surge in our increased number of children with MIS-C. While case and hospitalization numbers have declined, COVID-19 remains widespread and deadly and variant cases are increasing. We still have more progress to make that will allow for further re-openings so please continue keeping your distance from others, wearing a mask correctly over both your nose and mouth, and washing your hands often.”

Testing results are available for more than 5,801,000 individuals with 19% of people testing positive. Thursday’s daily test positivity rate is 3.2%. Residents should get tested if they have symptoms or were exposed to someone who was positive and isolate immediately from your family and others if you have symptoms or test positive for COVID-19. People with COVID-19, even if they have no symptoms, can be very infectious and pass the infection to others.

COVID-19 testing is available throughout L.A. County. Call your healthcare provider or check with your local pharmacy to get tested. If you need help finding a health care provider, call 2-1-1. People who live in L.A. County, regardless of immigration status, can apply for an appointment for a drive through or walk up test by visiting covid19.lacounty.gov/testing/ or by calling 2-1-1.

COVID-19 vaccine remains limited. As more vaccine comes into L.A. County, the County is working to ensure that eligible residents and workers in the hardest 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).

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

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
With the Regional Stay at Home Order rescinded statewide as of Jan. 25, all counties are now 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.

Blueprint Summary as of Feb. 23

– 47 counties in the Purple (widespread) Tier

– 9 counties in the Red (substantial) Tier

– 2 counties in Orange (moderate) 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
CDPH has issued an updated travel advisory. Postponing travel and staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from COVID-19. Non-essential travelers from other states or countries are strongly discouraged from entering California and should adhere to the state’s self-quarantine procedures for 10 days.

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.

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. California has worked to reduce testing turnaround times in recent weeks to help curb the spread of the virus. During the week of Feb. 7 – Feb. 13, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.1 days. During this same time period, 76% of patients received test results in one day and 94% 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 Feb. 22, 302 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.

New Health Equity Dashboard
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted existing inequities in health that are the result of structural racism and poverty, and the disproportionate prevalence of underlying conditions such as asthma and heart disease among Latinos and African Americans. As part of its commitment to reduce health inequities and ensure the best outcomes for all Californians, the state has launched a Health Equity Dashboard on www.covid19.ca.gov. View COVID-19 Race & Ethnicity Data and Cases and Deaths by Age Group.

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.