The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Thursday 20 new deaths and 1,887 new cases of COVID-19 countywide, with 37,324 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

**Note: The higher number of cases today likely reflects delays in reporting of about 500 positive tests from one or more labs over the past several days.

Public Health is also preparing to administer COVID-19 vaccines to children 5 to 11 years old once the FDA and CDC recommends and approves Pfizer vaccines for children in this age group.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been more than 200,000 cases among children and teens in L.A. County. Over the week ending Oct. 10, 12% of L.A. County cases were in children aged 5 to 11. Children in this age group comprise 9% of the county’s population. Since March of 2020, L.A. County has seen more than 79,000 cases among children aged 5 to 11, more than 37,000 cases in children under 5 and more than 89,000 cases in teens aged 12 to 17. The County has seen 632 hospitalizations in children under 5; 376 among children 5 to 11; and 740 among teens aged 12 to 17. The very low number of pediatric deaths seen in L.A. County – seven in total – have occurred during or shortly after case surges. Five of these deaths were in children aged 12 to 17, while one was under 5 and one was a child between the ages of 5 and 11.

In the next few days, the FDA will consider its committee’s advice and make a decision whether to issue an emergency use authorization for the Pfizer vaccine for children 5 to 11 years old. Then, on Nov. 2 and 3, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is expected to meet and vote on their recommendation, and shortly thereafter, the CDC Director will make a recommendation on how to use the vaccine in children. Once this recommendation is issued, vaccine providers nationwide will implement the authorization which could happen as early as Nov. 3.

There will be hundreds of providers in L.A. County ready to provide vaccines to children in this age group as soon as the CDC issues its recommendation. The County is positioned to have almost 150,000 pediatric doses of the Pfizer vaccine available next week. Parents and caregivers can also check with their children’s pediatrician to see if they will be administering COVID vaccines once there is final approval from the CDC.

On Thursday, Oct. 28, at 6:00 p.m., Public Health will host a Virtual Town Hall on COVID-19 vaccine. Join Public Health to learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine, boosters, vaccinating children 5-11, and more. The town hall will be streamed live on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube @lapublichealth. For more information and to submit a question, visit: tinyurl.com/LACVaxTownHall

Last week, there were 500 student cases and about 2,700 student close contacts. Among staff, we saw 80 cases and 120 close contacts. These numbers represent a 40% decline in school cases and a 43% decline in staff cases from the prior week. Given there are more than 1.7 million children and staff attending or working at over 3,000 schools countywide, these are strikingly low numbers. This amounts to a test positivity of 0.2% among students and staff testing positive, with 0.2% identified as close contacts.

While Public Health anticipates that the ability to vaccinate all school-aged children will provide the best protection, the continued efforts of school communities show that masking and other preventive measures, like testing, are also powerful tools for supporting safety at schools.

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

William S. Hart Union High School District COVID-19 Dashboard

The William S. Hart Union High School District provides ongoing information to our community regarding COVID-19 cases while maintaining confidentiality for our students and staff. The COVID-19 case data below is updated regularly to indicate any currently confirmed COVID-19 positive case in staff members or students by school site. The data below is specific to individuals who have been physically present on a District campus within 14 days of receiving a positive COVID-19 test. The District, in conjunction with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, conducts contact tracing and directly notifies and provides resources for parents of students identified as close contacts (6 feet or less for 15 cumulative minutes or more).

Note: To see the communication process in the event of a positive COVID-19 case, visit https://www.hartdistrict.org/apps/pages/covid-19dashboard.

Student Dashboard

Staff Dashboard

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital

As of Thursday, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital currently had zero tests pending, 15 patients in the hospital, and a total of 1,591 patients who have been treated and discharged since the pandemic began, and no additional deaths, 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 5:45 p.m. Thursday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard remained unchanged from Wednesday with a total of 348 COVID-19 deaths in the Santa Clarita Valley since the onset of the pandemic.

The following is the community breakdown of the 348 SCV residents who have died, according to the L.A. County dashboard:

292 in Santa Clarita

21 in Castaic

10 in Acton

8 in Stevenson Ranch

6 in unincorporated Canyon Country

3 in Agua Dulce

3 in Val Verde

1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon

1 in Elizabeth Lake

1 in Newhall

1 in unincorporated Saugus/Canyon Country

1 in Valencia

0 in Lake Hughes (**revised from 1)

SCV Cases

Of the 37,324 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 27,387

* Castaic: 4,513

Stevenson Ranch: 1,757

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 1,170

Acton: 777

Val Verde: 431

Agua Dulce: 414

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 294

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 166

Elizabeth Lake: 116

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 69

Bouquet Canyon: 71

Lake Hughes: 59

Saugus/Canyon Country: 51

Sand Canyon: 24

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 20

Placerita Canyon: 5

*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

Of the 20 new deaths reported Thursday, three people who passed away were over the age of 80, five people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, seven people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, three people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49, and one person who died was between the ages of 18 and 29. One death was reported by the city of Long Beach.

To date, Public Health has identified 1,489,380 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 26,598 deaths. There are 649 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 28% of these people are in the ICU. Testing results are available for nearly 9,021,000 individuals with 15% of people testing positive. Thursday’s test positivity rate is 1.2%.

Unvaccinated people continue to account for most cases and hospitalizations and are still 6 times more likely to get infected and 28 times more likely to be hospitalized than vaccinated people.

“We are deeply saddened by the continued loss of loved ones to the virus and send our wishes for peace and healing to the families and friends of those who have passed,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Given that there is still considerable transmission, along with the risk that changing conditions favor easier spread of COVID as more activities move indoors and more people travel and gather to celebrate holidays, it remains important for us to maintain additional layers of protection, including masking up indoors and in crowded outdoor spaces. This is also the time — before the holidays, and before cooler weather leads to a rise in viral transmission — for unvaccinated people to get their vaccines, and those eligible for boosters, to get their additional dose.”

While we need to do everything necessary to get those not yet vaccinated their first dose, it is also important that many vaccinated people at risk of severe illness from COVID get their booster dose as soon as they are eligible for this additional dose. Boosters serve as ‘reminder’ doses that refresh your immunity to COVID and are needed since studies have shown that the effectiveness of the COVID vaccines diminish a bit over time.

People eligible for boosters include adults of any age who received their first Johnson & Johnson dose at least two months ago, and people who got the second dose of their Pfizer or Moderna vaccines at least six months ago and are 65-plus years old or are over 18 and live in long-term care settings, have underlying medical conditions, or work or live in high-risk settings.

This weekend is Halloween and residents of all ages are looking forward to celebrating the holiday. Fortunately, there are lots of safe ways to have a fun time when celebrating Halloween, including outdoor costume parties, pumpkin patch visits, outdoor ghost tours, hayrides, and trick-or-treating – when done safely. These options are all safer than doing things indoors, like haunted house tours, indoor costume parties, and spooky indoor performances.

When deciding what activities to take part in, it can be helpful to think about what makes an activity safe: the more participants who are vaccinated, the less likely an activity will result in viral transmission. Additionally, being outside adds safety, and you can further reduce risk by masking up when around people outside your household and avoiding crowded situations. Handing out individually packaged treats also makes transmission less likely. Taking a common sense approach to the holiday can limit risks while maximizing fun for everyone.

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 4,640,489 cases and 71,408 deaths to date. There are 3,817 confirmed hospitalizations and 997 ICU hospitalizations in the state.

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

There were 4,949 newly reported confirmed cases Wednesday.

Cases are occurring largely among unvaccinated populations. See the data for vaccinated and unvaccinated cases.

– For the week of Oct. 12 – Oct. 18, the average case rate among unvaccinated Californians age 16 or older is 35.8 per 100,000 per day and the average case rate among vaccinated Californians age 16 or older is significantly lower at 5.2 per 100,000 per day.

– The great majority of new cases are among unvaccinated individuals. The rate among the unvaccinated is 6.9 times the rate among the vaccinated.

The 7-day positivity rate is 2.5%.

There have been 101,496,250 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 227,069 during the prior 24-hour reporting period.

As of Oct. 28, according to the CDC, 86.8% of eligible Californians have received at least one dose. Providers have reported to CDPH that a total of 52,508,174 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 Oct. 27, local health departments have reported 127,960 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 525 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 Oct. 10 to Oct. 16, the average time patients waited for test results was 0.9 days. During this same time period, 81% of patients received test results in one day and 96% received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

As of Oct. 25, there have been 677 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.