The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reached the tragic milestone Tuesday of 8,000 confirmed COVID-19 deaths, including the 43rd death at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, and 3,113 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized countywide.

To date, Public Health identified 466,321 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Upon further investigation, 106 cases reported earlier were not L.A. County residents.

On Tuesday, Public Health has confirmed 64 new deaths and 8,547 new cases of COVID-19, including 11,101 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley. The 5-day average for daily new cases reported with COVID-19 is 8,993, nearly double than the 5-day average for daily new cases we saw on the day after Thanksgiving, which was 4,751, and triggered the Temporary Stay at Home Health Officer Order. This is more new cases reported each day for COVID-19 than at any point during the pandemic.

Of the 3,113 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized, 24% of these people are in the ICU. The County’s number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 is increasing at a dangerous pace, and today’s number marks the first time in the pandemic we have reported more than 3,000 people currently hospitalized for COVID-19. Today’s number is nearly 1,000 more hospitalizations than a little over a week ago, when on November 30, the daily number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 was 2,185.

Testing results are available for nearly 3,955,000 individuals with 11% of all people testing positive.

California Tuesday Snapshot
Statewide, the California Department of Public Health confirmed a total of 1,389,707 confirmed, with 20,047 deaths from the disease. There are 10,567 confirmed hospitalizations and 2,417 ICU hospitalizations in California.

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

There were 23,272 newly recorded confirmed cases Monday. Numbers do not represent true day-over-day change as these results include cases from prior to yesterday.

The 7-day positivity rate is 10.1% and the 14-day positivity rate is 8.7%.

There have been 25,789,775 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 296,424 over the prior 24-hour reporting period.

As case numbers continue to rise in California, the total number of individuals who will have serious outcomes will also increase.

Health Care Worker Infection Rates
As of Dec. 7, local health departments have reported 56,638 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 221 deaths statewide.

Santa Clarita Valley Tuesday Update
As of 5:20 p.m. Tuesday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard, remains unchanged from Monday. 84 deaths have been reported among Santa Clarita Valley residents since the pandemic began.

Again, the data dashboard did not yet record Henry Mayo’s 40th, 41st, 42nd or 43rd fatalities reported Monday and Tuesday.

According to the dashboard, of the 84 SCV residents who have died, 69 lived in Santa Clarita (up 3), 5 in Castaic, 3 in Acton, 3 in Stevenson Ranch, 1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon, 2 in unincorporated Canyon Country (up 1), and 1 in Val Verde.

Of the 11,101 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 7,334

Castaic: 2,507 (includes Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility*)

Stevenson Ranch: 364

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 305

Acton: 150

Val Verde: 129

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 71

Agua Dulce: 67

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 52

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 39

Elizabeth Lake: 22

Lake Hughes: 17

Saugus/Canyon Country: 17

Bouquet Canyon: 16

Sand Canyon: 7

San Francisquito/Bouquet 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 Tuesday Update
Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital reported its 43rd COVID-19 death Tuesday afternoon, hospital spokesman Patrick Moody said.

As of Tuesday, Dec. 8, of the 13,215 people tested at Henry Mayo to date, 1,604 tested positive, 15,939 were negative, 40 were pending, 67 patients were hospitalized in a dedicated unit receiving ICU-level care and a total of 448 COVID-19 patients have been treated and discharged so far, Moody said.

Discrepancies in the testing numbers at the hospital are due to some patients being tested multiple times.

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital releases complete statistics weekly, generally on Wednesdays, unless a new death occurs, he 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 is generally 48 hours behind.

L.A. County

“Our hearts go out to the families and friends experiencing the sorrow of losing a loved one to COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “I know we all want this to be over, but the only way we can truly move on forward in our recovery journey is if we all follow the basic Public Health safety measures. Right now, too many people in our community are infected with COVID-19 and it is irresponsible and dangerous for people or businesses to flaunt the essential measures that protect everyone from transmitting or acquiring the virus. The way out of this may seem difficult, but the steps are simple, and those who disregard these safety measures are only delaying our recovery journey. For businesses that remain open, please follow all our safety protocols that protect your employees and customers. And for all of us that call L.A. County our home, please stay home as much as possible, and if you do go outside, always wear a face covering and distance from others.”

Compliance with public health safety measures is essential to preserve our healthcare system and save lives. Everyone needs to immediately stay home as much as possible and always wear a face covering whenever engaging in activities outside their homes. Do not mingle with others not in your household. Because COVID-19 spreads from person to person through respiratory droplets, face coverings combined with frequent hand-washing and physical distancing provide the best protection if you need to leave your home. Individuals with underlying health conditions and those that are older should remain in their home and not be around others unless seeking routine or essential health care. Please contact your health care provider to schedule essential care, as these services remain open and can be utilized safely. If you are having difficulty breathing, go to an emergency room or call 911.

There have been a total of 21,491 positive cases among healthcare workers and first responders in Los Angeles County. This past week, 1,745 healthcare workers tested positive for COVID-19. This is double the number of new cases we reported the prior week. Seventy-three percent of healthcare workers who tested positive are younger than 50 years old. Slightly over half of the cases are among Latino/Latinx healthcare workers, and 68% of cases are among women. There have been a total 113 deaths among healthcare workers. Fifty-seven percent of these deaths occurred among men which is an overrepresentation of deaths, since the majority of cases are among women. More than 75% of deaths are among healthcare workers who are age 50 and older, and 48% are among Latino/Latinx healthcare workers. The vast majority, 84%, of healthcare workers who passed away had underlying health conditions. Nurses continue to account for the majority of deaths among healthcare workers at 42%.

Of the 64 new deaths reported today, 27 people that passed away were over the age of 80 years old, 19 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, 10 people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, and seven people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49 years old. Fifty-three people who died had underlying health conditions including 22 people over the age of 80 years old, 18 people between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, eight people between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, and four people between the ages of 30 and 49 years.

Ninety-three percent of the people who died from COVID-19 had underlying health conditions. Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 7,557 people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health); 52% of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 24% among White residents, 14% among Asian residents, 9% among African American/Black residents, less than 1% among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander residents and 1% among residents identifying with other races.

The 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.

California Tuesday

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced Tuesday the most recent statistics on COVID-19, including data on intensive care unit (ICU) capacity across the state. Based on ICU data, two regions, San Joaquin Valley and Southern California, are under the Regional Stay Home Order. These regions will be eligible to exit from the order and return to the Blueprint for a Safer Economy on December 28 if ICU capacity projections for the following month are above or equal to 15%.

Under the terms of the order, when ICU capacity drops below 15% in a region, a list of sectors must close by 11:59 p.m. the next day, including bars, breweries, distilleries, and wineries (except for production, manufacturing, and retail), hair salons and barbershops, and personal care services. In addition, a number of sectors in these regions, including restaurants, retail and shopping centers and hotels and lodging, will have additional modifications in addition to 100% masking and physical distancing. Critical infrastructure, schools and non-urgent medical and dental care can remain open with appropriate infectious disease preventative measures.

Read the full Regional Stay at Home Order, Supplement to the Order, and frequently asked questions.

Current available ICU capacity by region:

Bay Area: 24.5%

Greater Sacramento Region: 18.8%

Northern California: 25%

San Joaquin Valley: 5.6%

Southern California: 10.1%

See region map.

Blueprint for a Safer Economy

Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled the Blueprint for a Safer Economy, a statewide plan for reducing COVID-19 and keeping Californians healthy and safe. The plan imposes risk-based criteria on tightening and loosening COVID-19 allowable activities and expands the length of time between changes to assess how any movement affects the trajectory of the disease.

Californians can go to covid19.ca.gov to find out where their county falls and what activities are allowable in each county.

New Testing Turnaround Time Dashboard
The testing turnaround dashboard reports how long California patients are waiting for COVID-19 test results. California has worked to reduce testing turnaround times in recent weeks to help curb the spread of the virus. During the week of Nov. 22 – Nov. 28, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.7 days. During this same time period, 51 percent of patients received test results in 1 day and 78 percent received them within 2 days. The testing turnaround time dashboard (PDF) is updated weekly.

At this time, all four tiers in the Testing Prioritization Guidance will have equal priority for testing.

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.

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 Dec. 7, 145 cases of MIS-C have been reported statewide. To protect patient confidentiality in counties with fewer than 11 cases, we are not providing total counts at this time.

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. Contact your child’s doctor immediately if your child has these symptoms. Early diagnosis and treatment of patients is critical to preventing long-term complications.

Racial Demographics – A More Complete Picture
The California Department of Public Health is committed to health equity and collecting more detailed racial and ethnic data that will provide additional understanding for determining future action. 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. Only by looking at the full picture can we understand how to ensure the best outcomes for all 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: Latinos, African Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are dying at disproportionately higher levels. 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.

Popular links include:

– 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)

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

– Practicing social distancing.

– 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.

– Following guidance from public health officials.

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.