The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Tuesday 1,183 new cases of COVID-19 and 76 new deaths due to the virus countywide, with a total of 978 cases reported in the Santa Clarita Valley.

California has 81,795 confirmed cases and 3,334 deaths from COVID-19 as of Sunday, according to the state Department of Public Health.

Local health departments statewide have confirmed 8,405 positive cases in healthcare workers and 46 deaths as of May 18. (The number of deaths went down by one in this reporting period based on verification of data.)

L.A. County Public Health reports no new deaths for the Santa Clarita Valley. To date, there have been 18 COVID-19 deaths in the SCV (15 in Santa Clarita, 1 in Acton, 1 in Castaic). The community where the 18th victim lived is still unknown.

Countywide, 52 people who died were over the age of 65 years old; 19 people who died were between the ages of 41 to 65 years old, and two people who died were between the ages of 18 and 40 years old. Sixty-four people had underlying health conditions including 48 people over the age of 65 years old, 14 people between the ages of 41 to 65 years old, and two people between the ages of 18 and 40 years old. One death was reported by the City of Long Beach and two deaths were reported by the City of Pasadena.

To date, Public Health has identified 39,573 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County, and a total of 1,913 deaths. Ninety-two percent of people who died had underlying health conditions. Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 1,722 people (99 percent of the cases); 39% of deaths occurred among Latinx residents, 29% among White residents, 18% among Asian residents, 12% among African American residents, 1% among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander residents and 1% among residents identifying with other races. Upon further investigation, 61 cases and two deaths reported earlier were not L.A. County residents. As of today, 5,914 people who tested positive for COVID-19 (15% of positive cases) have been hospitalized at some point during their illness. There are 1,549 people who are currently hospitalized, 27% of these people are in the ICU and 19% are on ventilators. Testing capacity continues to increase in L.A. County, with testing results available for nearly 359,000 individuals and 9% of people testing positive.

Santa Clarita Valley Tuesday Update
Of the 978 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 594

Castaic: 280 (includes Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility)

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 33

Stevenson Ranch: 28

Val Verde: 15

Acton: 10

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 7

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 4

Agua Dulce: 4

Elizabeth Lake 3

Henry Mayo Tuesday Update
Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital is now releasing numbers on a weekly basis (Wednesdays), unless there is a drastic change in the number of cases or a death has been confirmed. There no were updates released on Tuesday. However, hospital officials did confirm the eighth COVID-19 death at Henry Mayo late Monday afternoon, bringing the number of fatalities in all areas of the SCV to 18, hospital spokesman Patrick Moody said.

Moody also said that as of Monday, of the 1,249 persons tested at Henry Mayo to date, 195 tested positive, 1,172 were negative, 17 were pending and 15 patients were hospitalized in a dedicated unit receiving ICU-level care. Sixty-eight COVID-19 patients have been discharged.

Discrepancies in the testing numbers are due to some patients being tested more than once, Moody said.

“Each day, as we share this information with you, we know there are people across our community who have suffered tremendous loss. For those of you mourning the passing of a loved one, we wish you healing and peace,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “As we continue to reopen more places and spaces in the weeks ahead, we will need to use the tools of physical distancing and wearing cloth face coverings to continue to slow the spread. We don’t yet have a vaccine but we do have each other. Each of us has the power to protect another person.”

The current Health Officer Order replaces the previous Health Officer Order and allows for retailers and manufacturers, select recreational facilities, and beaches to reopen. Retailers remain closed to public entry and beaches are open for active recreation only. Retail businesses, manufacturing and logistic businesses are required to prepare, implement and post their plan for adhering to directives including distancing and infection control practices that protect both employees and customers. Employees who can work from home should be doing so, and any staff who are in a group at greater risk of serious illness from COVID-19, like older adults and people with underlying health conditions, should be assigned work that can be done from home, if possible. All employees need to be given a written copy of the protocol for keeping them safe while working. Everyone must follow distancing and infection control protocols, stay at least six feet apart and wear a clean cloth face covering that securely covers both your nose and mouth when in contact with other people not in your household.

Public Health will assess the activities allowed by the Order on an ongoing basis. Residents can track progress on a Recovery Dashboard as well. This Order continues to require that specific higher-risk businesses remain closed and prohibits public and private gatherings of any number of people outside of a single household unit. Currently, LA County is in stage two of the five-stage Roadmap to Recovery and until the final stage five is reached, Health Officer Orders and directives will continue to ensure that we slow spread of COVID-19 to prevent an overwhelming surge of COVID-19 cases at healthcare facilities.

An interactive dashboard is available that provides an overview on COVID-19 testing, cases and deaths along with maps and graphs showing testing, cases and death data by community poverty level, age, sex and race/ethnicity. The Health Officer Order, 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, Visit Public Health’s COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard here.

The best protection against COVID-19 is to wash your hands frequently, avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, self-isolate if you are sick, practice physical distancing (especially by staying at home) and wear a clean face covering when in contact with others from outside your household. People who have underlying health conditions remain at much greater risk for serious illness from COVID-19, so it will continue to be very important for the County’s vulnerable residents to stay at home as much as possible, to have groceries and medicine delivered, and to call their providers immediately if they have even mild symptoms.

California Tuesday Update
As testing capacity continues to increase across the state, the California Department of Public Health is working to expand access to COVID-19 testing. Testing should be used for medical evaluation of persons with symptoms of COVID-19 as well as for efforts by public health agencies and essential employers to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19.

– Hospitalized patients

– Symptomatic and asymptomatic healthcare workers, first responders, and other social service employees

– Symptomatic individuals age 65 and older or symptomatic individuals of any age with chronic medical conditions that increase the risk of severe COVID-19 illness

– Individuals who are tested as part of disease control efforts in high-risk settings

– Asymptomatic residents and employees of congregate living facilities when needed to prevent disease transmission

– Symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals in essential occupations such as grocery store and food supply workers, utility workers and public employees

– Other individuals with symptoms consistent with COVID-19

As of May 18, 1,339,316 tests have been conducted in California and reported to the California Department of Public Health. This represents an increase of 46,644 tests over the prior 24-hour reporting period. These numbers include data from commercial, private and academic labs, including Quest, LabCorp, Kaiser, University of California and Stanford, and the 25 state and county health labs currently testing.

These numbers include data from commercial, private and academic labs, including Quest, LabCorp, Kaiser, University of California and Stanford, and the 25 state and county health labs currently testing.

California Demographics
Health outcomes are affected by forces including structural racism, poverty and the disproportionate prevalence of underlying conditions such as asthma and heart disease among Latinos and African American Californians.

The differences in health outcomes related to COVID-19 are most stark in COVID-19 deaths. We have nearly complete data on race and ethnicity for COVID-19 deaths, and we are seeing the following trends.

Overall, for adults 18 and older, Latinos, African Americans and Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are dying at disproportionately higher levels. The proportion of COVID-19 deaths in African Americans is about double their population representation across all adult age categories. For Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, overall numbers are low, but there is nearly a four-fold difference between the proportion of COVID-19 deaths and their population representation. More males are dying from COVID-19 than females, in line with national trends.

More information is available at COVID-19 Race and Ethnicity Data.

Your Actions Save Lives

Every person has a role to play. Protecting yourself and your family comes down to common sense:

– Staying home except for essential needs/activities.

– Practicing social distancing.

– 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.

– Following guidance from public health officials.

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) and may have had contact with a person with COVID-19, or recently traveled to countries with apparent community spread, call your health care provider before seeking medical care so that appropriate precautions can be taken.

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. Visit Coronavirus (COVID-19) in alifornia and California Department of Public Health COVID-19 Guidance.

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.

To view the Los Angeles County Incident Report for Tuesday, May 19, see below:

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