The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Thursday 74 additional deaths and 1,985 new cases of COVID-19 countywide, with 35 new cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

This new data brings Los Angeles County death totals to 30,519, county case totals to 2,789,292 and Santa Clarita Valley case totals to 71,555 since March of 2020.

On Thursday, Public Health confirmed 74 additional deaths and 1,985 new cases of COVID-19. Of the 74 new deaths reported today, three people were between the ages of 30-49, 18 were between the ages of 50-64, 23 were between the ages of 65-79, and 26 were aged 80 years or older. Of the 74 newly reported deaths, 60 had underlying health conditions. Information on the four deaths reported by the city of Long Beach is available at www.LongBeach.gov. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 30,519.

Public Health has reported a total of 2,789,292 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Thursday’s positivity rate is 2.2%.

There are 1,150 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 11,386,400 individuals, with 22% of people testing positive.

Multiple Safety Measures in Los Angeles County Schools:

Multiple layers of safety measures within county schools continue to protect students, staff, and their families from COVID-19 according to recent Public Health data.

Between Feb. 14 and 18, over 458,000 tests were administered at K-12 schools across the county with 3,679 positive tests. This resulted in a test positivity of 0.8%, reflecting the lowest level since the return of the school session in January 2022. Furthermore, this represents a marked decline by nearly 95% in test positivity compared to the week ending Jan. 7 when test positivity peaked at 14%.

Moreover, at K-12 schools across the county, the number of active school outbreaks currently being investigated continue to decline to a total of 38, down from 46 the week prior. This includes 13 new outbreaks (seven in elementary schools, three in middle schools, and three in youth sports) between February 13-19.

Scientific evidence continues to support the concept of layering multiple protections to keep students and families safe. A Johns Hopkins University 2021 study of more than 2.1 million individuals last year showed that the risk of COVID-related illness in households increased by 38% when a child attends in-person school. However, as layers of school-based safety measures increased (upwards of seven or more measures including student masking), the increased risk went completely away. This shows that masking requirements, combined with multiple layers of school-based protections, can keep families, unvaccinated siblings, and high-risk family members safe from the transmission of the COVID-19 from schools.

Currently, the state requires indoor masking at schools as part of a comprehensive campus safety program. The state is currently reassessing mitigation strategies, including masking, and plans to announce considerations and timeframes for revisiting its school guidance, on February 28. Public Health will review the state’s assessment with plans to consider the county’s metrics and align as closely as possible.

Another critical tool is childhood COVID-19 vaccinations. Public Health data shows that unvaccinated children ages 5-11 were two times more likely to be infected when compared to those who were fully vaccinated. For those ages 12-17, unvaccinated teens were almost three times more likely to be infected and nearly five times more likely to be hospitalized when compared to those who were fully vaccinated.

“I send my deepest sympathies and wishes for peace and comfort to the many families who have lost a loved one due to COVID-19,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Given the large numbers of schools and students, teachers, and staff who are on school campuses each day, the number of school outbreaks has remained relatively low across the 3,100 school campuses in LA County. When combined with our low positivity rate and rapidly declining cases among students and staff, this suggests that through our collective efforts, schools continue to successfully implement recommended strategies that limit spread – such as screening and response testing, ensuring compliance with isolation and quarantine requirements, and following recommended infection control measures like masking.”

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).

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital currently has zero tests pending, 10 patients in the hospital, and a total of 2,174 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 5:30 p.m. Thursday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard reported three additional deaths from COVID-19 in the city of Santa Clarita, and an additional death in Acton, bringing the total number of deaths from COVID-19 in the SCV to 430.

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

Santa Clarita: 353

Castaic: 27

Acton: 16

Unincorporated Canyon Country: 9 (revised from 10)

Stevenson Ranch: 10

Agua Dulce: 5

Val Verde: 3

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 71,555 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

Santa Clarita: 53,186

Castaic: 7,035

Stevenson Ranch: 3,955

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 2,550

Acton: 1,496

Val Verde: 822

Agua Dulce: 774

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 661

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 309

Elizabeth Lake: 202

Bouquet Canyon: 147

Lake Hughes: 145

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

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

Vaccinations

– 71,356,298 total vaccines administered.

– 83.0% of the eligible population (5+) has been vaccinated with at least one dose.

– 50,576 people a day are receiving COVID-19 vaccination (average daily dose count over 7 days).

Cases

– California has 8,349,967 confirmed cases to date.

– Monday’s average case count is 11,258 (average daily case count over 7 days).

– Unvaccinated people are 5.4 times more likely to get COVID-19 than boosted individuals (Jan. 31, 2022 – Feb. 6, 2022).

Testing

– The testing positivity rate is 3.8% (average rate over 7 days).

Hospitalizations

– There are 5,219 hospitalizations statewide.

– There are 1,035 ICU patients statewide.

– Unvaccinated people are 10.5 times more likely to be hospitalized than boosted individuals (Jan. 31, 2022 – Feb. 6, 2022).

Deaths

– There have been 83,784 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

– COVID-19 claims the lives of 182 Californians each day (average daily death count over 7 days).

– Unvaccinated people are 16.0 times more likely to die than boosted individuals (Jan. 24, 2022 – Jan. 30, 2022).

Health Care Workers

Note: There has been no update of positive cases among health care workers since Jan. 6. 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 Feb. 6 to Feb. 12, the average time patients waited for test results was 1 day. During this same time period, 87% of patients received test results in one day and 96% received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

As of Feb. 14, there have been 817 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.