The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Thursday 45 additional deaths and 45,076 new cases of COVID-19 countywide, with 55,978 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

Of the 45 new deaths reported Thursday, two were between the ages of 30-49, seven people were between the ages of 50 and 64, 14 were between the ages of 65-79, and 17 were over the age of 80 years old. Of the 45 newly reported deaths, 35 had underlying conditions. Information on the one death reported by the city of Long Beach and the four deaths reported by the city of Pasadena are available at: www.LongBeach.gov and www.CityofPasadena.net. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County are 27,895.

Public Health has identified a total 2,131,523 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Thursday’s positivity rate is 20.8%.

There are 4,175 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 10,494,000 individuals, with 19% of people testing positive.

Protecting Skilled Nursing Facility Residents and Staff is Critical During Continued Surge

With COVID cases remaining very high and hospitalization and death counts rising, protecting residents and staff at skilled nursing facilities is even more important.

New cases among skilled nursing residents increased by more than 250% to 443 new cases and among staff by more than 350% to 1,522 for the week ending January 2nd compared to the week prior.

There are also 137 active outbreaks in skilled nursing facilities as of January 8th, an 88% increase from the week prior. The increase in outbreaks across all other sectors was 65% during the same period.

While vaccination rates remain very high at 91% of residents and 97% of staff, booster coverage lags among facility staff, with only 54% receiving a booster. More than 85% of facility residents are boosted. The low percentage of staff boosted likely reflects vaccination status at the end of December, which is shortly after the healthcare worker booster mandate was implemented. It is likely that this percentage will increase leading up to the Feb. 1 deadline.

To continue providing the best protection the most vulnerable residents, a new Health Officer Order was issued on Dec. 23 that requires workers who provide service or work in high-risk settings, including in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and other health care settings and who are currently eligible for a COVID-19 booster vaccination, receive their booster dose by no later than 2-1-22. Workers who are not yet eligible for a booster must receive a booster within 15 days of becoming eligible. Exemptions from the vaccine requirement are permitted only for religious beliefs or qualifying medical conditions.

“I know so many are mourning the loss of a loved one and I send my heartfelt condolences and wishes for healing,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “As we continue to see increases in cases, hospitalizations, and now deaths, keeping residents and staff of skilled nursing and long-term care facilities protected is of paramount importance. If you’re currently not up to date on your vaccination and booster, please do not wait. Now is one of the most important and urgent moments to seek this protection. For facility staff, do it not just for yourself but for your family you come back home to and the patients and residents you take care of every day. Their lives often depend on it.” Ferrer continued, “Nonetheless, we face continued challenges and disruptions over this next month related to high rates of transmission and the resulting staffing shortages. We will need everyone to work together to minimize the potential for harm that can accompany a surge of this magnitude.”

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, visit https://www.hartdistrict.org/apps/pages/covid-19dashboard.

Student Dashboard

Staff Dashboard

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital reported Thursday zero tests pending, 84 patients in the hospital, total of 1,823 patients who have been treated and discharged since the pandemic began, and no additional decreased, hospital spokesman Patrick Moody confirmed.

“We strongly encourage everyone to follow CDC guidelines to protect themselves and those around them,” Moody said.

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 5:00 p.m. Thursday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard reported an additional death in the city of Santa Clarita, and an additional death in Acton, bringing the total of COVID-19 deaths since the onset of the pandemic to 381.

The following is the community breakdown of the 381 SCV residents who have died, according to the L.A. County dashboard:

314 in Santa Clarita

23 in Castaic

14 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 55,978 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

Santa Clarita: 41,530

Castaic: 5,849

Stevenson Ranch: 3,016

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 1,915

Acton: 1,122

Val Verde: 621

Agua Dulce: 588

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 508

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 246

Elizabeth Lake: 155

Bouquet Canyon: 108

Lake Hughes: 105

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 74

Saugus/Canyon Country: 68

Sand Canyon: 35

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 29

Placerita Canyon: 9

*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 released the following data Thursday. The most up to date data is available on the state’s COVID-19 data dashboard.

Statewide COVID-19 Data

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

Vaccinations

– 66,974,365 total vaccines administered.

– 80.6% of the eligible population (5+) has been vaccinated with at least one dose.

– 182,150 people a day are receiving COVID-19 vaccination (average daily dose count over 7 days).

Cases

– California has 6,296,907 confirmed cases to date.

– Today’s average case count is 79,610 (average daily case count over 7 days).

Testing

– The testing positivity rate is 23.0% (average rate over 7 days).

Hospitalizations

– There are 12,927 hospitalizations statewide.

– There are 1,958 ICU patients statewide.

– Unvaccinated people were 8.0 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 (data from December 20, 2021 to December 26, 2021).

Deaths

– There have been 76,804 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

– COVID-19 claims the lives of 46 Californians each day (average daily death count over 7 days).

– Unvaccinated people were 20.8 times more likely to die from COVID-19 (data from Dec. 13, 2021 to Dec. 19, 2021).

Health Care Workers

As of Jan. 6, local health departments have reported 136,816 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 540 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 Dec. 25 to Jan. 1, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.2 days. During this same time period, 65% of patients received test results in one day and 92% received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

As of Jan. 10, there have been 783 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.