The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Thursday 160 new deaths and 3,489 new cases of COVID-19, with 25,061 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

To date, Public Health identified 1,158,619 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 18,658 deaths.

There are 3,772 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized, a reduction of more than 1,000 patients in a week, and 29% of these people are in the ICU. A week ago, on Feb. 4, there were 4,990 people hospitalized. This is still more than 4 times higher than pre-surge daily hospitalizations when between mid-September and late-October, the daily number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 was under 800 people.

Holiday Gatherings
After the winter holidays, L.A. County experienced significant increases in cases and hospitalizations within a few weeks. With continued widespread transmission of the virus in L.A. County, Public Health urges everyone to take extra measures to protect each other as the Lunar New Year, Valentine’s Day, and Presidents Day holidays approach. Being around people who aren’t part of your household puts you at a greater risk for COVID-19. So, the best way to stay safe is to celebrate with just your household and connect virtually with friends and family that don’t live with you.

It is critically important that residents not attend any private gatherings or leave their home if they are experiencing symptoms of illness, have tested positive for COVID-19 or if they have been exposed or likely have been exposed to someone who is positive.

Testing results are available for more than 5,647,000 individuals with 19% of people testing positive. Tuesday’s daily test positivity rate is 6.8%. Please get tested if you have symptoms or an exposure and isolate immediately from your family and others if you have symptoms or test positive for COVID-19.

California Thursday Snapshot
Statewide, the California Department of Public Health confirmed a total of 3,371,556 cases, with 45,456 deaths from the disease. There are 10,338 confirmed hospitalizations and 2,915 ICU hospitalizations in California.

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

There were 8,575 newly recorded confirmed cases Wednesday.

The 7-day positivity rate is 4.6% and the 14-day positivity rate is 5.4%.

There have been 44,923,981 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 153,380 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. 11, providers have reported administering a total of 5,291,493 vaccine doses statewide. Numbers do not represent true day-to-day change as reporting may be delayed. The CDC reports that 8,133,075 doses have been delivered to entities within the state, and 8,388,375 vaccine doses, which includes the first and second dose, have been shipped.

Health Care Worker Infection Rates
As of Feb. 10, local health departments have reported 90,308 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 374 deaths statewide.

Santa Clarita Valley Thursday Update
As of 4:50 p.m. Thursday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard recorded 237 deaths among Santa Clarita Valley residents since the pandemic began, but had not included the most recent deaths from Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital.

According to Thursday’s dashboard, of the 237 SCV residents who have died, 206 lived in Santa Clarita, 12 in Castaic, 6 in Acton, 4 in Stevenson Ranch, 3 in unincorporated Canyon Country, 2 (revised from Wednesday’s 3) in Agua Dulce, 1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon, 1 in Lake Hughes, 1 in Newhall, 1 in Val Verde.

Of the 25,061 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 18,287

Castaic: 3,502

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

Stevenson Ranch: 995

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 744

Acton: 414

Val Verde: 297

Agua Dulce: 244

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 169

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 125

Elizabeth Lake: 71

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 66

Bouquet Canyon: 42

Lake Hughes: 40

Saugus/Canyon Country: 36

Sand Canyon: 15

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 14

*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: There was no available data released on Thursday.

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital announced its 129th COVID-19 fatality Wednesday, hospital spokesman Patrick Moody said.

As of Wednesday, 1 case is pending, 46 patients were hospitalized in dedicated COVID-19 units receiving ICU-level care, and a total of 1,086 patients have 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
Of the 160 new deaths reported Tuesday, 39 people who passed away were over the age of 80, 58 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, 33 people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, and 11 people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49. Twelve deaths were reported by the city of Long Beach and two deaths were reported by the city of Pasadena.

“I extend my sincere sympathies to everyone mourning the loss of a loved one to COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “L.A. County has made encouraging progress in all the key indicators this month. Let us not step backward on our recovery journey. We know from experience that gatherings, parties, and the other activities we usually do with non-household members on holidays leads to increases in transmission, hospitalizations, and deaths. Continuing to slow transmission requires limiting the number of people we interact with. If we do not gather, we save lives.”

Public Health continues to track the impact of COVID-19 on expecting and new moms and newborns. As of February 8, there have been a total of nine deaths among the 6,042 pregnant women who tested positive for COVID-19. Seventy-nine percent of pregnant women testing positive for COVID-19 are Latina/Latinx, 9% are White, 4% are African American/Black, 4% are Asian, less than 1% are Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, 2% identify with another race, and race/ethnicity was unknown or unspecified for 2%. Among the 3,703 births where there was testing information, 48 infants tested positive for the virus.

Public Health encourages expecting and new moms to take extra care and remain home as much as possible to avoid exposure to COVID-19. If you are sick or positive for COVID-19 and breastfeeding, wear a mask while breastfeeding or bottle-feeding, and be sure to wash your hands before touching the baby or any pump or bottle before using. If possible, ask someone else to feed the baby your breastmilk by bottle. Public Health has detailed guidance for expecting and new moms available online.

Residents are encouraged to visit www.VaccinateLACounty.com to learn about the vaccination phases, determine when it is your turn to get vaccinated, and sign-up for our COVID-19 vaccine newsletter. This week, appointments at the large capacity vaccination sites are booked for second doses. We are hopeful in the coming weeks that more vaccine will become available.

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

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. 9:

53 counties in the Purple (widespread) Tier

2 counties in the Red (substantial) Tier – Del Norte and Mariposa

3 counties in Orange (moderate) Tier – Alpine, Sierra, and Trinity

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 Jan. 24 – Jan. 30, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.2 days. During this same time period, 74% of patients received test results in one day and 92% 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. 8, 224 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.