The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health officials confirmed Thursday 24 new deaths and 8,633 new cases of COVID-19 countywide, with 40,849 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

– Cases to date: 1,585,313

– Deaths to date: 27,512

– 770 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19

More than 9,880,000 individuals tested; 15% of people tested positive

Data is by date reported by DPH, but does not necessarily represent the date of testing, hospitalization, or death.

* Number reflects an undercount due to a lag from weekend reporting.

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.

Getting vaccinated or boosted is most important as we go into the holiday season where many will be traveling and gathering with others. The vaccines are effective against the Delta variant and earlier strains of the virus, which allows us to remain hopeful that the approved vaccines will also provide some protection against Omicron. Residents can walk-in to any Public Health vaccination site or make an appointment at the hundreds of additional sites across the county. For more information, visit VaccinateLACounty.com.

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital has two tests pending, 23 patients in the hospital, and a total of 1,696 patients who have been treated and discharged since the pandemic began, and no additional deceased, 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.

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

Santa Clarita Valley Thursday Update
As of 5:15 p.m. Thursday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard reported one additional death in the city of Santa Clarita, bringing the total number to 373 COVID-19 deaths to date in the Santa Clarita Valley.

The following is the community breakdown of the 373 SCV residents who have died, according to the L.A. County dashboard:

307 in Santa Clarita

23 in Castaic

13 in Acton

9 in Stevenson Ranch

7 in unincorporated Canyon Country

5 in Agua Dulce

3 in Val Verde

2 in Valencia

1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon

1 in Elizabeth Lake

1 in Newhall

1 in unincorporated Saugus/Canyon Country

0 in Lake Hughes (**revised from 1)

SCV Cases

Of the 40,849 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 30,000

* Castaic: 4,782

Stevenson Ranch: 1,982

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 1,294

Acton: 876

Val Verde: 467

Agua Dulce: 454

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 332

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 190

Elizabeth Lake: 129

Bouquet Canyon: 88

Lake Hughes: 78

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 70

Saugus/Canyon Country: 55

Sand Canyon: 24

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 23

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.

California Thursday

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released the most recent statistics Thursday on COVID-19 and updates on the state’s pandemic response.

Cases

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

– Unvaccinated people were 7.6 times more likely to get COVID-19 (data from Dec. 2, 2021 to Dec.8, 2021 ).

– Unvaccinated people were 11.7 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 (data from Nov. 25, 2021 to Dec. 1, 2021).

– Unvaccinated people were 14.8 times more likely to die from COVID-19 (data from Nov. 18, 2021 to Nov. 24, 2021).

Vaccinations

– 63,497,746 total vaccines administered.

– 78.7% of the eligible population (5+) has been vaccinated with at least one dose.

– 192,159 people a day are receiving COVID-19 vaccination (average daily dose count over 7 days).

Cases

– California has 4,969,615 confirmed cases to date.

– Thursday’s average case count is 5,777 (average daily case count over 7 days).

Testing

– The testing positivity rate is 4.2% (average rate over 7 days).

– Hospitalizations

– There are 4,005 hospitalizations statewide.

– There are 995 ICU patients statewide.

Deaths

– There have been 75,383 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

– COVID-19 claims the lives of 42 Californians each day (average daily death count over 7 days).

Testing Turnaround Time

The testing turnaround time dashboard reports how long California patients are waiting for COVID-19 test results. During the week of Dec. 12 to Dec. 18, the average time patients waited for test results was one day. During this same time period, 85% of patients received test results in one day and 96% received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

As of Dec. 20, there have been 767 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.

New Updates

New Actions to Protect Californians from COVID-19

Gov. Gavin Newsom has announced new booster requirements and testing measures to better protect all Californians as the Omicron variant becomes the dominant COVID-19 strain in the nation. The COVID-19 booster requirement for health care workers will mitigate potential staffing shortages while helping to safeguard the state’s hospital capacity and protect the health and safety of Californians. Combined with the new federal policies announced yesterday, these actions will help ensure everyone in California has access to testing throughout the holiday season and that K-12 public school students can return to school safely.

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.