On Tuesday, Los Angeles County Public Health officials confirmed 20 new deaths and 2,293 new cases of COVID-19 countywide, with 30,273 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

Of the 20 new deaths reported today, five people who passed away were over the age of 80, six people who passed were between the ages of 65 and 79, six people who passed were between the ages of 50 and 64, and three people who passed were between the ages of 30 and 49.

“To everyone grieving the loss of loved ones from COVID-19, our thoughts and prayers are with you,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health.

To date, Public Health identified 1,307,970 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 24,704 deaths.

Testing results are available for more than 7,358,000 individuals with 17% of people testing positive. Today’s test positivity rate is 6.6%.

There are 1,138 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 22% of these people are in the ICU. This is an increase of 313 daily hospitalizations since last Tuesday.

Cases Among Nursing Staff, Residents at Skilled Nursing Facilities

With the high level of COVID-19 spread occurring across the County and nation, we are now experiencing increases in cases among staff and residents at skilled nursing facilities. This is in part due to the highly transmissible Delta variant and a small number of post-vaccination infection among those fully vaccinated. Currently, 86% of residents and 85% of staff at skilled nursing facilities are fully vaccinated. For the week ending July 18, 33 people tested positive for COVID-19: 6 new cases among residents, and 27 new cases among staff. For the previous weeks, an average of 22 new cases were reported among staff and residents at skilled nursing facilities.

Masks have consistently been required in all healthcare settings, including skilled nursing facilities, regardless of vaccination status. Routine testing of staff and residents is also required at skilled nursing facilities, and there are stringent infection control directives.

Public Health encourages anyone planning to visit someone in a facility to do so safely. As a reminder, you must wear a mask for all visitations, and visitation should occur outdoors whenever possible. If outdoor visitation is not possible, then the facility should make available a large indoor space with good ventilation that can allow for six feet of distancing. For indoor in-room visitation, visitors are asked to show proof of vaccination, or a negative COVID-19 test from no later than two days prior, or recovery from COVID-19 within the previous 90 days. Additional restrictions may apply, so visitors should consult with the facility in advance for further instructions.

Virtual Town Hall

On Wednesday, Aug. 4, at 6:00 p.m., Public Health will host the Los Angeles County COVID-19 Virtual Town Hall on Schools. Join the town hall to get the latest updates on COVID-19 and school re-openings. The town hall will be streamed live on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube @lapublichealth. For more information and to submit a question, visit TinyURL.com/LACSchoolsTownHall.

Santa Clarita Valley Tuesday Update

As of 6 p.m. Sunday, the L.A. County Public Health COVID-19 dashboard remained unchanged from Wednesday, with a total of 311 COVID-19 related deaths in the SCV since the pandemic began.

The following is the community breakdown of the 311 SCV residents who have died, according to the L.A. County dashboard:

269 in Santa Clarita

16 in Castaic (**revised initially from 18)

6 in Acton

6 in Stevenson Ranch

4 in unincorporated Canyon Country

3 in Agua Dulce

1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon

1 in Elizabeth Lake

1 in Lake Hughes

1 in Newhall

1 in unincorporated Saugus/Canyon Country

1 in Valencia

1 in Val Verde

Of the 30,273 confirmed COVID-19 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 22,188

Castaic: 3,925 (incl. Pitchess Detention Center & North County Correctional Facility*)

Stevenson Ranch: 1,316

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 937

Acton: 537

Val Verde: 357

Agua Dulce: 315

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 224

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 143

Elizabeth Lake: 85

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 69

Bouquet Canyon: 51

Lake Hughes: 43

Saugus/Canyon Country: 46

Sand Canyon: 18

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 15

Placerita Canyon: 4

*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.

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital Tuesday Update

As of Tuesday, Aug. 3, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital had zero tests pending, 33 patients hospitalized, a total of 1,312 patients treated and discharged since the pandemic began, and no additional deaths, hospital spokesman Patrick Moody confirmed.

To date, there have been 153 deaths since the pandemic began.

“We strongly encourage everyone who is eligible for vaccination to get vaccinated,” Moody said.

Privacy laws prohibit Henry Mayo from releasing the community of residence for patients who die at the hospital; residence info is reported by the L.A. County Public Health COVID-19 dashboard, which generally lags 48 hours behind.

California Tuesday Snapshot

California Department of Public Health confirmed Tuesday 3,881,089 cases and 64,096 deaths to date.

Numbers may not represent true day-over-day change as reporting of test results can be delayed.

As of August 2, local health departments have reported 116,812 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 483 deaths statewide.

There were 7,318 newly reported confirmed cases Monday.

Cases are increasing statewide, largely among unvaccinated populations.

For the week of July 14-20, the average case rate among unvaccinated Californians is 20.7 per 100,000 per day and the average case rate among vaccinated Californians is significantly lower at 3.5 per 100,000 per day.

The vast majority of new cases are among the unvaccinated with 600% higher case rates among the unvaccinated than for those who are vaccinated.

The 7-day positivity rate is 6.7%.

There have been 74,331,144 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 154,929 during the prior 24-hour reporting period.

As of August 3, providers have reported administering a total of 44,182,488 vaccine doses statewide. The CDC reports that 49,988,145 doses have been delivered to entities within the state.

Numbers do not represent true day-to-day change as reporting may be delayed. For more vaccination data, visit the COVID-19 Vaccine Data Dashboard.

See more California information later in this report.

L.A. County Vaccine Information

Visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish) to learn how to make an appointment at vaccination sites. If you don’t have internet access, can’t use a computer, or you’re over 65, you can call 1-833-540-0473 for help finding an appointment. Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status.

L.A. County Public Health’s Reopening Protocols, COVID-19 Surveillance Interactive Dashboard, Roadmap to Recovery, Recovery Dashboard, and additional things you can do to protect yourself, your family and your community are on the Public Health website, www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

Each week, the California Department of Public Health updates the number of cases of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) reported in the state.

As of August 2 there have been 589 cases of MIS-C have been 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.

Parents should be aware of the signs and symptoms of MIS-C including fever that does not go away, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, neck pain, rash, bloodshot eyes, or feeling tired.

Although very rare, COVID-19 cases among children can sometimes result a few weeks later in very serious illness known as Multi-symptom Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C).

Vaccine Eligibility

As of May 13, vaccination appointments for individuals aged 12+ can be made by visiting myturn.ca.gov. The consent of a parent or legal guardian may be needed for those between the ages of 12 and 17 to receive a vaccination. For more information on the vaccine effort, visit Vaccinate All 58.

Tracking COVID-19 in California

* State Dashboard – Daily COVID-19 data

* County Map – Local data

* Data and Tools – Models and dashboards for researchers, scientists, and the public

* 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

California Testing & Turnaround Time

The testing turnaround time dashboardreports how long California patients are waiting for COVID-19 test results.

During the week of July 18 to July 24, the average time patients waited for test results was one day.

During this same time period, 81% of patients received test results in one day and 94% received them within two days.

Protect Yourself and Your Family: Your Actions Save Lives

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

* Getting vaccinated when it’s your turn. Californians age 16+ are eligible to make an appointment.

* Avoiding non-essential travel, and practicing self-quarantine for 14 days after arrival if you leave the state.

* Keeping interactions limited to people who live in your household.

* Wearing a cloth face mask when out in public.

* Washing hands with soap and water for a minimum of 20 seconds.

* Avoiding touching eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.

* Covering a cough or sneeze with your sleeve or disposable tissue. Wash your hands afterward.

* Avoiding close contact with people who are sick.

* Staying away from work, school, or other people if you become sick with respiratory symptoms like fever and cough.

* Staying home except for essential needs/activities following local and state public health guidelines when patronizing approved businesses. To the extent that sectors are re-opened, Californians may leave their homes to work at, patronize, or otherwise engage with those businesses, establishments or activities.

* Getting tested if you believe you’ve been exposed. Free, confidential testing is available statewide.

* Adding your phone to the fight by signing up for COVID-19 exposure notifications from CA Notify.

* Answering the call if a contact tracer from the CA COVID Team or local health department tries to connect.

* Following guidance from public health officials.

California COVID-19 Data and Tools

A wide range of data and analysis guides California’s response to COVID-19. The state is making the data and its analytical tools available to researchers, scientists and the public at covid19.ca.gov.

* The Statewide COVID-19 Dashboard

* The California COVID-19 Assessment Tool (CalCAT)

* State Cases and Deaths Associated with COVID-19 by Age Group

* COVID-19 Race & Ethnicity Data

* COVID-19 Hospital Data and Case Statistics

* View additional datasets at the California Open Data Portal (including Testing Data, PPE Logistics Data, Hospital Data, Homeless Impact and more)

Consolidated guidance is available on the California Department of Public Health’s Guidance webpage.

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Always check with trusted sources for the latest accurate information about novel coronavirus (COVID-19):

* Los Angeles County Department of Public Health

* California Department of Public Health

* Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

* Spanish

* World Health Organization

* Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 Dashboard

L.A. County residents can also call 2-1-1.

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