Los Angeles County has met the threshold for the least restrictive yellow tier in the State’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy.

On Tuesday, the State released updated blueprint tier numbers; L.A. County’s adjusted case rate dropped from 1.9 new cases per 100,000 people to 1.6 new cases per 100,000. The overall test positivity rate dropped from 0.9% to 0.7%, and in areas with the fewest health affirming resources, L.A. County’s test positivity rate dropped from 1.0% to 0.8%.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Tuesday 18 new deaths and 273 new cases of COVID-19, with 27,737 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

Of the 18 new deaths reported Tuesday, six people that passed away were over the age of 80, seven people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, four people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, and one person who died was between the ages of 30 and 49.

To date, Public Health identified 1,234,202 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 23,930 deaths.

There are 386 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 25% of these people are in the ICU. COVID-19 testing results are available for nearly 6,525,000 individuals with 18% of people testing positive.

***Los Angeles County Moves to Least-Restrictive Yellow Tier**
A revised Los Angeles County Health Officer Order will go into effect on Thursday, May 6, to reflect newly permitted activities. Moving into the yellow tier allows, on Thursday, for increases in capacity in many sectors and allows bars to begin providing indoor service at 25% capacity. All of these changes will still require safety modifications, including masking, distancing and infection control to reduce the risk of transmission. The sectors with increases in capacity limits include amusement parks and fairs, gyms and fitness centers, yoga studios, private events, bars, hotels and short-term lodging rentals, private gatherings, breweries, indoor playgrounds, restaurants, cardrooms and racetracks, indoor and outdoor live events and performances, wineries and tasting rooms, family entertainment centers, and museums, zoos, and aquariums.

The modified Health Officer Order will be posted online on Wednesday, May 5 with an effective date of May 6.

Public Health urges everyone to celebrate Cinco de Mayo safely
Please avoid large crowds, celebrate outdoors, and wear your mask at all times except when eating and drinking. Alcohol lowers inhibitions, please drink responsibly and safely to protect yourself and others and never drink and drive. Let’s continue to work together during our recovery journey.

California Tuesday Snapshot
The California Department of Public Health confirmed Tuesday 3,645,341 confirmed cases and 60,765 deaths to date. There are 1,608 confirmed hospitalizations and 395 ICU hospitalizations in the state.

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

There were 1,349 newly recorded confirmed cases Monday.

The 7-day positivity rate is 1.1%.

There have been 60,858,620 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 148,849 during the prior 24-hour reporting period.

As of May 4, providers have reported administering a total of 30,700,655 vaccine doses statewide. The CDC reports that 39,463,160 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.

Health Care Worker Infection Rates
As of May 3, local health departments have reported 107,899 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 456 deaths statewide.

Santa Clarita Valley Tuesday Update
As of 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard remained unchanged from Monday, recording a total of 303 deaths (revised from 304 deaths on Friday 4/30/2021) among Santa Clarita Valley residents.

The following is the community breakdown of the 303 SCV residents who have died, according to the L.A. County dashboard:

260 in Santa Clarita

*revised from 261 Friday 4/30/2021*

18 in Castaic

6 in Acton

6 in Stevenson Ranch

3 in Agua Dulce

3 in unincorporated Canyon Country

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 27,737 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 20,315

Castaic: 3,729

(includes Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility*)

Stevenson Ranch: 1,138

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 841

Acton: 470

Val Verde: 336

Agua Dulce: 279

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 193

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 130

Elizabeth Lake: 76

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 68

Bouquet Canyon: 47

Lake Hughes: 42

Saugus/Canyon Country: 40

Sand Canyon: 17

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 15

Placerita Canyon: 1

*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, there were zero cases pending, one patient was hospitalized in a dedicated COVID-19 unit, and a total of 1,229 patients had been treated and discharged since the pandemic began, hospital spokesman Patrick Moody said.

There were no additional deaths, keeping the total deaths at 147 people to date. The most recent death was March 21.

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.

L.A. County

“To the many people grieving a loved one lost to COVID-19, we extend our deepest condolences,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “It is a big deal for L.A. County, a county of more than 10 million people, to move into the least restrictive tier in the State’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy. We are successful only because together we took a stand to lower COVID-19 transmission by following the guidance and safety measures. While transmission is low here, we are still in the middle of a pandemic, variants of concern are circulating, and there is still widespread transmission occurring in other parts of the world. We know how to get our rates low, now we must keep them low by getting vaccinated and continuing to follow the guidance. Our gains are fortified as more people are vaccinated.”

COVID-19 vaccinations are available at County-run sites and many community sites without an appointment. Everyone 16 and older living or working in L.A. County can get vaccinated. You should bring a photo ID with you and teens 16 and 17 should be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish) to find a vaccination site near you, to make an appointment at vaccination sites, and much more. 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. There may be an extended wait time to speak with an operator for help making an appointment during high demand times. Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status.

County Reopening Protocols, COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard, COVID-19 Surveillance Interactive Dashboard, Roadmap to Recovery, Recovery Dashboard, and additional actions you can take to protect yourself, your family and your community are on the Public Health website, www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

California Tuesday

Updated Face Coverings Guidance

Today CDPH updated its November 16, 2020 face coverings guidance to align with the latest CDC guidance. Face coverings are not required outdoors except when attending crowded outdoor events when physical distancing is not possible. For small outdoor gatherings, fully vaccinated persons are not required to wear face coverings while unvaccinated persons do. Regardless of vaccination status, face coverings are required indoors with a few exceptions.

Updated Guidance for Fully Vaccinated Persons

CDPH also updated the April 15, 2021 guidance for fully vaccinated persons to clarify that Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards related to the quarantine of fully vaccinated individuals applies to workplaces that are not healthcare settings. Fully vaccinated people can spend time with other fully vaccinated persons from a single household who are at low-risk for severe COVID-19 disease, including indoors, without wearing a face covering or physically distancing. Follow the updated face coverings guidance.

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

Vaccine Eligibility Update

Individuals age 16+ are eligible to make an appointment to be vaccinated. Visit myturn.ca.gov to make an appointment or visit Vaccinate All 58 to learn more about the safe and effective vaccines available.

Blueprint for a Safer Economy
All counties are under the rules and framework of the Blueprint for a Safer Economy and color-coded tiers that indicate which activities and businesses are open based on local case rates and test positivity. As always, local public health departments may implement policies that are more restrictive than the state.

Blueprint Summary as of May 4

0 counties in the Purple (widespread) Tier

12 counties in the Red (substantial) Tier

39 counties in Orange (moderate) Tier

7 counties in Yellow (minimal) Tier

Blueprint tiers are updated weekly on Tuesdays. Find the status of activities in specific counties.

New Testing Turnaround Time Dashboard
The testing turnaround dashboard reports how long California patients are waiting for COVID-19 test results. During the week of April 18 to April 24, the average time patients waited for test results was just under one day. During this same time period, 83% of patients received test results in one day and 98% received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)
As of April 26, there have been 491 cases Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (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.

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.

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
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.

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.