Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital reported an additional death from COVID-19, bringing the total to 228 since the onset of the pandemic, spokesman Michael Crawford confirmed Thursday.

The hospital currently has zero tests pending, three patients in the hospital, a total of 2,219 patients who have been treated and discharged since the pandemic began.

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.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Thursday 27 additional deaths, 734 new positive cases countywide, with 25 new cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

This new data brings Los Angeles County death totals to 31,561, county case totals to 2,827,802 and Santa Clarita Valley case totals to 72,149 since March of 2020.

Of the 27 new deaths reported Thursday, 11 people were between the ages of 50-64, five were between the ages of 65-79, and 11 were aged 80 years or older. Of the 27 newly reported deaths, 19 people had underlying health conditions.

Note that 165 additional cases have been added to the cumulative total of positive cases due to a backlog of cases from the surge. Today’s positivity rate is 0.7%.

There are 351 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 11,636,500 individuals, with 22% of people testing positive.

The Los Angeles County Post Surge Response Plan, which aims to protect the most vulnerable residents, keep hospitals and the healthcare system functioning, prevent unconstrained spread and significant illness, and prepare for future challenges presented by the evolving conditions of the virus, uses several metrics to assess risk. These metrics are tied to associated community prevention strategies and early alert signals that trigger a review of contributing factors and potential changes to community and sector-specific prevention strategies.

As of March 22, L.A. County’s current Centers for Disease Control Community Level is low, with 117.8 new cases per 100,000 people in last seven days, 3.5 new COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 population (seven-day total), and 2.6% proportion of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients (seven-day average).

L.A. County’s Early Alert Signals allow us to quickly determine any concerning trends that can result in future higher rates of transmission and/or increased illness severity.

These signals include three community-wide measures: variants of concern (or VOCs), Emergency Department COVID-19 visits, and cumulative crude case rate in high poverty communities. The signals also include four sector-specific measures, which are: new outbreaks at Skilled Nursing Facilities, new outbreaks at TK-12 schools, new outbreaks at settings with Persons Experiencing Homelessness, and clusters at worksites.

If there are alerts in two or more sectors, which reach the threshold for moderate or high concern, we’ll conduct an in-depth review of contributing factors and consider changes to community prevention strategies. Sector-specific alerts that reach the threshold for moderate or high concern will result in mitigation measures that are tailored to that setting.

As of March 24, only one indicator reached the threshold for moderate concern, the percent of specimens sequenced that are identified as a new variant of concern (based on the World Health Organization’s designation).

Although the current sequencing sample represents a small fraction of all cases, it indicates that between February 27- March 5, 14.7% of sequenced cases were the BA.2 Omicron sub-lineage in LA County. This is an increase from 6.4% of sequenced cases in the prior week.

The increase of the Omicron sub-variant BA.2 in sequenced samples parallels trends nationally and in Europe. This variant is known to be more highly contagious than earlier variants, though it does not appear to be more severe.

Public Health continues to strongly recommend protective measures including, when around others in public settings, wearing a mask with a good fit and filtration (medical masks or N95/KN95/KF94 respirators), especially for individuals who are at elevated risk of severe illness from a COVID-19 infection and for those who live with someone at elevated risk, such as the elderly, those with underlying comorbidities, and immunocompromised individuals. Public Health also strongly recommends residents who need to get vaccinated or who are eligible to get boosted do so now, as the vaccines provide the best protection against COVID and the associated variants. Residents should get tested if they are sick or exposed COVID-19 and stay at home if they receive a positive test result.

“We continue to extend our deepest sympathies to everyone mourning the loss of a loved one from COVID,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “The Community Level metrics from the CDC and the County’s early alert system were implemented to help Public Health better assess our level of risk based on the most current COVID-19 local metrics. Although most of our metrics continue to improve, the county continues to see substantial transmission. Along with the increasing circulation of the more-infectious BA.2 subvariant, everyone, especially those who are at elevated risk or live with someone at elevated risk, should wear a high-quality mask and get vaccinated and boosted.”

A wide range of data and dashboards on COVID-19 from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health are available on the Public Health website at http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

To keep workplaces and schools open, residents and workers are asked to:

– Get tested to help reduce the spread, especially if you traveled for the holidays, have had a possible exposure, or have symptoms, or are gathering with people not in your household

– Adhere to masking requirements when indoors or at crowded outdoor spaces, regardless of vaccination status

– Residents are legally required to be isolated if they have a positive COVID test result and vaccinated close contacts with symptoms and unvaccinated close contacts need to be quarantined.

For information on where you can get tested, please visit www.covid19.lacounty.gov/testing/.

For updated isolation and quarantine guidance, please visit www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective and are recommended for everyone 5 years old and older to help protect against COVID-19. Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status. Appointments are not needed at all Public Health vaccination sites and many community sites where first, second, and third doses are available.

To find a vaccination site near you, or to make an appointment, please visit:

www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) or

www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish).

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,

Student Dashboard

Staff Dashboard

Santa Clarita Valley Monday Update
As of 4:30 p.m. Thursday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard remained the same as Wednesday with 454 total deaths from COVID-19 in the Santa Clarita Valley.

The following is the community breakdown per L.A. County’s dashboard:

Santa Clarita: 371

Castaic: 28

Acton: 17

Stevenson Ranch: 14

Unincorporated Canyon Country: 9 (revised from 10)

Agua Dulce: 5

Val Verde: 3 (revised from 4)

Valencia: 2

Unincorporated Bouquet Canyon: 2

Elizabeth Lake: 1

Newhall: 1

unincorporated Saugus/Canyon Country: 1

Lake Hughes: 0 (**revised from 1)

SCV Cases

Of the 72,149 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

Santa Clarita: 53,616

Castaic: 7,088

Stevenson Ranch: 3,998

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 2,579

Acton: 1,513

Val Verde: 828

Agua Dulce: 779

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 668

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 309

Elizabeth Lake: 203

Bouquet Canyon: 149

Lake Hughes: 146

Saugus/Canyon Country: 89

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 87

Sand Canyon: 48

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 34

Placerita Canyon: 15

*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.

California Thursday

Statewide COVID-19 Data

Vaccinations

– 72,557,645 total vaccines administered.

– 83.7% of the eligible population (5+) has been vaccinated with at least one dose.

– 27,320 people a day are receiving COVID-19 vaccination (average daily dose count over 7 days).

Cases

– California has 8,473,370 confirmed cases to date.

– Monday’s average case count is 2,166 (average daily case count over 7 days).

– Unvaccinated people are 4.4 times more likely to get COVID-19 than boosted individuals (Feb. 28, 2022 – March 6, 2022).

Testing

– The testing positivity rate is 1.3% (average rate over 7 days).

Hospitalizations

– There are 1,699 hospitalizations statewide.

– There are 285 ICU patients statewide.

– Unvaccinated people are 8.5 times more likely to be hospitalized than boosted individuals (Feb. 28, 2022 – March 6, 2022).

Deaths

– There have been 87,702 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

– COVID-19 claims the lives of 66 Californians each day (average daily death count over 7 days).

– Unvaccinated people are 13.8 times more likely to die than boosted individuals (Feb. 21, 2022 – Feb. 27, 2022).

Health Care Workers

Note: As of March 17, local health departments have reported 152,773 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 574 deaths statewide.

Testing Turnaround Time

The testing turnaround time dashboard reports how long California patients are waiting for COVID-19 test results. During the week of March 6 to March 12, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.4 days. During this same time period, 90% of patients received test results in one day and 96% received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

As of March 21, there have been 907 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.

Additional Updates

Mask Guidance: Under California’s mask guidance, universal masking is required only in specified higher risk settings like hospitals, public transit and congregate living facilities. Unvaccinated persons are required to mask in all indoor public settings. Fully vaccinated individuals are recommended to continue indoor masking when the risk may be high. Workplaces will continue to follow the COVID-19 prevention standards set by CalOSHA. Local health jurisdictions may implement requirements that are stricter than state guidance.

Slow the Spread: Get Vaccinated and Boosted for COVID-19

The risk for COVID-19 exposure and infection continues as a number of Californians remain unvaccinated and unboosted.

Real-world evidence continues to show that the vaccine is preventing severe illness, hospitalization, and death. Public health officials urge Californians to get vaccinated and boosted as soon as possible.

It is recommended that every vaccinated person 12 years or older should get a booster as long as they received their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine at least five months ago or they received their Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least two months ago.

Vaccination appointments can be made by visiting myturn.ca.gov or calling 1-833-422-4255. The consent of a parent or legal guardian may be needed for those under age 18 to receive a vaccination. Visit Vaccinate All 58 to learn more about the safe and effective vaccines available for all Californians 5+.

Your Actions Save Lives

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

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.