The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed two new deaths and 86 new cases in the Santa Clarita Valley within the last week.

Public Health is now reporting COVID-19 data every Thursday.

This new data brings Los Angeles County death totals to 36,047 and Santa Clarita Valley case totals to 99,035 since March of 2020. SCV deaths from COVID-19 rise to 553.

The following table shows the weekly reported case counts, average number of daily hospitalizations, and weekly reported death counts in Los Angeles County over the past four weeks.

Public Health Urges Bivalent Boosters for Older Adults, Others at Higher Risk of Hospitalization, Death from COVID-19

While the updated bivalent booster continues to provide substantial protection against severe illness from COVID-19, more than half of the people in age groups most vulnerable to hospitalization and death from the virus (adults ages 65 and older) have not yet taken advantage of this additional protection.

Even as COVID-19 case, hospitalization and death rates continue to decline in Los Angeles County, current rates are still elevated when compared to other low points during the pandemic. The continued health risks associated with a COVID-19 infection are real and potentially lasting, especially for older adults and people who are immunocompromised or have underlying health issues.

Public Health is currently reporting an average of nearly eight deaths from COVID-19 each day. Of the 361 COVID-19 patients currently in local hospitals, 11% are being treated in the Intensive Care Unit.

To lower those risks, Public Health urges all residents, especially those at higher risk of severe illness due to COVID-19, to get the updated bivalent booster. As of April 2, only 42% of eligible Los Angeles County residents ages 65 and older, who remain the most vulnerable to hospitalization and death from COVID-19, had received the bivalent booster.

According to local data over the past 90 days, ending March 13, for people in those older age groups who are vaccinated and yet to receive the bivalent booster, the risk for death is doubled compared to those who have received the bivalent booster.

Long COVID also remains a risk. Based on U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates, more than one in four people who have ever had COVID went on to experience long COVID. Risk factors that make people more likely to experience long COVID include not getting a COVID-19 vaccine, underlying health conditions, and experiencing more severe COVID-19 illness, especially requiring hospitalization.

In Los Angeles County, across all age groups, for the week ending March 20, people who were unvaccinated were five times more likely to be hospitalized compared to people who are vaccinated with the bivalent booster.

The updated bivalent booster was approved in September 2022. For some people, including those who are older or immunocompromised, the bivalent booster may be their fifth vaccine – as the virus has changed, the types of protection needed has changed also.

The bivalent booster, widely available regardless of immigration or insurance status, is formulated for currently circulating Omicron strains. The bivalent booster is approved for people aged 6 months and older. More information can be found at ph.lacounty.gov/howtogetvaccinated.

“To those who have lost a loved one to COVID-19, I offer my deepest sympathies. May you find strength during this difficult time,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.Ed., Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. “I am feeling optimistic about the COVID numbers in Los Angeles County, and I hope to see them continue to decline. However, it is difficult to overlook the fact that people continue to die and be deeply impacted by this disease, more than three years on. I fear that people do not know the full risks, or that protection is available. I especially encourage those at higher risk for severe illness to get their bivalent booster for increased protection, even though many safety measures have been lifted. This is because every day, even with lower rates of transmission, hundreds of people in Los Angeles County get infected; those at higher risk significantly reduce their chance of experiencing a bad outcome should they get infected if they are boosted. If people are wondering whether they or their loved ones are due for the updated booster, an easy way to know is to look at when you had your last booster – if it has been more than eight months, before September of 2022, you are due, and you’ll likely benefit from the increased protection.”

The weekly case count for COVID-19 dropped 22% from the week prior from 3,505 last week to 2,731 this week. The lowest weekly case count since April of 2020 for Los Angeles County was 1,263 reported on June 2, 2021. Reported weekly deaths also dropped from 58 last week to 53 this week. The 7-day average number of COVID hospitalizations is 378 this week, a decrease from 401 last week.

Los Angeles County remains in the CDC’s Low COVID-19 Community Level for the 12th consecutive week. This includes a weekly case rate of 27 new cases per 100,000 people. The 7-day total for new COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 people is currently 3.9. And the 7-day average of the proportion of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients is now 2.1%.

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.

Schools Community Dashboard

Student Dashboard

Staff Dashboard

Santa Clarita Valley Thursday Update

As of 4 p.m. Thursday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard reported an additional death from COVID-19 in the city of Santa Clarita and Canyon Country, bringing the total number of deaths in the SCV to 553.

NOTE: As of Dec. 20, 2022, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health switched to a new geocoding process to improve the accuracy and completeness of geocoded data. Geocoding is the process of assigning an address to specific geographic coordinates (latitude/longitude). As a result, approximately 1,500 cases (0.04%) were removed from the cumulative count as they were determined to be out of jurisdiction with the improved geocoding. The switch to this improved process also resulted in minor changes to cumulative case/death counts by Supervisor District, Service Planning Area, city/community, and area poverty categories.

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

Santa Clarita: 451

Castaic: 30 (revised from 33)

Acton: 18 (revised from 19)

Stevenson Ranch: 18

Unincorporated Canyon Country: 11

Agua Dulce: 7

Val Verde: 6

Elizabeth Lake: 4

Lake Hughes: 2

Valencia: 2

Unincorporated Bouquet Canyon: 2

Newhall: 1

Unincorporated Saugus/Canyon Country: 1

SCV Cases

Of the 98,897 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

Santa Clarita: 73,177

Castaic: 9,595

Stevenson Ranch: 5,956

Canyon Country: 3,754

Acton: 2,009

Val Verde: 1,218

Agua Dulce: 990

Valencia: 933

Saugus: 343

Elizabeth Lake: 286

Bouquet Canyon: 205

Lake Hughes: 203

Saugus/Canyon Country: 130

Newhall: 105

Sand Canyon: 63

San Francisquito: 44

Placerita Canyon: 24

*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 now updates their numbers on Thursdays. The information below is from the most recent data released Thursday, April 6.

Vaccinations

– 88,523,251 total vaccines administered.

– 72.8% of the population has been vaccinated with a primary series.

– 6,629 people a day are receiving COVID-19 vaccination (average daily dose count over 7 days).

Cases

– California has 11,206,165 confirmed cases to date.
– Thursday’s average case count is 1,343 (average daily case count over 7 days).
– During February 2023, unvaccinated people were 2.6 times more likely to get COVID-19 than people who were vaccinated with at least a primary series.

Testing

The testing positivity rate is 5.1% (average rate over 7 days).

Hospitalizations

– There are 1,561 hospitalizations statewide.

– There are 171 ICU patients statewide.

– During February 2023, unvaccinated people were 2.5 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 than people who were vaccinated with at least a primary series.

Deaths

– There have been 101,312 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

– COVID-19 claims the lives of 18 Californians each day (average daily death count over 7 days).

– During February 2023, unvaccinated people were 2.3 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than people who were vaccinated with at least a primary series.

Health Care Workers

As of March 15, local health departments have reported 192,552 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 602 deaths statewide.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C). This is the most recent data reported:

As of Dec. 19, there have been 1,048 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.

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 individual six months of age and older receive their primary COVID-19 vaccine series and booster dose.

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:

– 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.