The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Tuesday 86 new deaths, including the 51st death at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, and 11,194 new cases of COVID-19, with 12,494 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

This is the highest number of daily deaths reported countywide since the summer surge.

To date, Public Health identified 543,769 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 8,431 deaths.

There are 4,403 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 21% of these people are in the ICU. Hospitalizations have increased 4-fold since November 16. The number of people hospitalized was 1,049 on November 16 and over 4,400 today.

According to the State, the Southern California Region has 1.7% ICU capacity remaining.

California Tuesday Snapshot
Statewide, the California Department of Public Health confirmed a total of 1,617,370 confirmed, with 21,188 deaths from the disease. There are 14,283 confirmed hospitalizations and 3.081 ICU hospitalizations in California.

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

There were 32,326 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 11.1% and the 14-day positivity rate is 10.6%.

There have been 27,845,066 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 293,027 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. 14, local health departments have reported 60,297 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 230 deaths statewide.

Santa Clarita Valley Tuesday Update
As of 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard, is reporting 89 deaths among Santa Clarita Valley residents since the pandemic began. Note: The dashboard had not yet recorded the most recent deaths from Henry Mayo, which would bring the SCV tally to 95.

Of the 95 SCV residents who have died, 74 lived in Santa Clarita, 5 in Castaic, 3 in Acton, 3 in Stevenson Ranch, 1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon, 2 in unincorporated Canyon Country, 1 in Val Verde, and 6 in communities not yet named.

Of the 12,494 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 8,433

Castaic: 2,592 (includes Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility*)

Stevenson Ranch: 435

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 358

Acton: 183

Val Verde: 139

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 78

Agua Dulce: 84

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 59

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 44

Elizabeth Lake: 24

Lake Hughes: 17

Saugus/Canyon Country: 18

Bouquet Canyon: 18

Sand Canyon: 8

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 Tuesday its 51st death from COVID-19, hospital spokesman Patrick Moody said.

As of Tuesday, of the 13,842 people tested at Henry Mayo to date, 1,818 tested positive, 16,677 were negative, 29 were pending, 77 patients were hospitalized in a dedicated unit receiving ICU-level care and a total of 507 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 releases statistics weekly, usually on Wednesdays, unless a new death occurs.

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

During this time of extraordinarily high number of cases and hospitalizations and increasing numbers of deaths, it is more important than ever that County businesses carefully follow the Public Health requirements and be fully compliant with the safeguards and modifications in the Health Officer Order and protocols.

Public Health’s compliance teams continue to visit businesses across the County every day and review public health protocols with business owners, identify deficiencies, and issue citations for businesses out of compliance. From November 29 through December 6, a total of 20 citations were issued to businesses including restaurants, gyms, and indoor malls for noncompliance with Health Officer Orders. Since the end of August, a total of 433 citations have been issued. A list of non-compliant businesses that received citations can be found on www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

L.A. County businesses are encouraged to take the COVID-19 Safety Compliance Certification Program. The program provides business owners and employees the opportunity to take a free online training about COVID-19 infection control protocols and allows businesses to self-certify that they are fully implementing protocols in compliance with infection control and physical distancing requirements. To date, a total of 16,166 employees and employers have completed the training.

Of the 86 new deaths reported today, 34 people that passed away were over the age of 80 years old, 33 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, 16 people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, and three people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49 years old. Seventy people who died had underlying health conditions including 29 people over the age of 80 years old, 28 people between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, 11 people between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, two people between the ages of 30 and 49 years old.

“We send our deepest sympathies to everyone mourning the passing of a loved one to COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “We must all work together to prevent as many hospitalizations and deaths as possible while we wait for the COVID-19 vaccine to be widely available. The first vaccines were administered yesterday marking the beginning of the end of this pandemic. I ask that everyone stay strong and focus all efforts to stop the surge. We need to protect each other from this deadly virus by carefully abiding by the straight-forward safety measures and directives in the Health Officer Order. It worked before and it will work again when we all follow the rules.”

Because COVID-19 transmission is so widespread, activities become riskier as local case levels continue to surge. The risk increases even more when those activities involve the removing of face coverings in close distance around people not in the same household. Because of the increased risk, Public Health requires everyone to stay home as much as possible. Only go out for activities that are essential like work, exercise, or medical and dental services. When you must leave your home, always wear a face covering whenever outside your home, keep at least 6-feet of distance from others not in your household, wash your hands frequently, and avoid crowds. Individuals with underlying health conditions and those that are older should remain in their home and not be around others as much as possible. Please remember, if you are having difficulty breathing, go to an emergency room or call 911.

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) today announced the most recent statistics on COVID-19, including data on intensive care unit (ICU) capacity across the state. Based on ICU data, three regions, San Joaquin Valley, Southern California, and Greater Sacramento remain under the Regional Stay at Home Order.

Regions must remain under the order for at least three weeks and will be eligible to exit the order and return to the Blueprint for a Safer Economy only if ICU capacity projections for the following month are above or equal to 15%. The dates that regions will be eligible to exit follow:

San Joaquin: Monday, Dec. 28

Southern California: Monday, Dec. 28

Greater Sacramento: Friday, Jan. 1

Under the terms of the order, when ICU capacity drops below 15% in a region, certain sectors must close by 11:59 p.m. the next day. In addition, several 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 requirements. 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: 15.8%

Greater Sacramento Region: 14.9%

Northern California: 29.8%

San Joaquin Valley: 1.6%

Southern California: 1.7%

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. 29 – Dec. 5, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.4 days. During this same time period, 58 percent of patients received test results in 1 day and 87 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. 14, 152 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.