The Los Angeles County Health Officer Order was modified Tuesday to require universal masking at outdoor mega events regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status. Masks are required to be worn by everyone at all times except when actively eating or drinking at these events. Outdoor mega events are outdoor events with crowds greater than 10,000 attendees and include music or food festivals, car shows, large endurance events, marathons, parades, sporting events and concerts.

As the highly infectious Delta variant continues to spread, wearing masks regardless of vaccination status indoors and in crowded settings, including at outdoor mega events, reduces the risk of being infected with and transmitting COVID-19. Emerging data affirms that fully vaccinated people are well protected from severe infections with Delta variants. Although fully vaccinated people are less likely to become infected than unvaccinated people are, they can become infected and transmit infection to others.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Tuesday 30 new deaths and 2,907 new cases of COVID-19 countywide, with 32,031 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

Case numbers may be lower Tuesday due to reporting issues. Of the 30 new deaths reported Tuesday, six people who passed away were over the age of 80, five people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, 10 people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, seven people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49, and one person who died was between the ages of 18 and 29. One death was reported by the city of Long Beach. To date, Public Health identified 1,355,698 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 24,935 deaths.

There are 1,679 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 24% of these people are in the ICU.

Testing results are available for nearly 7,800,000 individuals with 16% of people testing positive. Tuesday’s test positivity rate is 3.5%.

Public Health inspectors continue to visit businesses across the county every day to ensure compliance with Health Officer Order safety protocols and masking guidelines along with providing technical assistance. Between Aug. 7 and Aug. 13, Public Health inspectors visited a total of 1,614 businesses, including restaurants, bars, breweries, hotels, gyms, retail stores, shopping malls, personal care businesses and food and garment manufacturers. The most common violation is face masks not provided by employers and employees not wearing a face mask. Another common violation is businesses not posting signage instructing customers to wear a face mask. Overall, the compliance inspections revealed that while the majority of businesses were in compliance, there is some room for improvement, particularly at fitness centers and food and garment manufacturing plants.

**More from Los Angeles County Public Health further below**

William S. Hart Union High School District COVID-19 Dashboard

The William S. Hart Union High School District provides ongoing information to our community regarding COVID-19 cases while maintaining confidentiality for our students and staff. The COVID-19 case data below is updated regularly to indicate any currently confirmed COVID-19 positive case in staff members or students by school site. The data below is specific to individuals who have been physically present on a District campus within 14 days of receiving a positive COVID-19 test. The District, in conjunction with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, conducts contact tracing and directly notifies and provides resources for parents of students identified as close contacts (6 feet or less for 15 cumulative minutes or more).

Note: To see the communication process in the event of a positive COVID-19 case, visit https://www.hartdistrict.org/apps/pages/covid-19dashboard.

Student Dashboard:

Student Dashboard: The COVID-19 case data is updated regularly to indicate any currently confirmed COVID-19 positive case in students by school site.

Staff Dashboard:

Staff Dashboard: The COVID-19 case data is updated regularly to indicate any currently confirmed COVID-19 positive case in staff members by school site.

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital Tuesday Update
As of Tuesday, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital had two tests pending, 34 patients hospitalized, a total of 1,378 patients treated and discharged since the pandemic began, with no additional deaths, hospital spokesman Patrick Moody confirmed.

There have a been a total of 154 COVID-related deaths at Henry Mayo since the pandemic began.

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.

Santa Clarita Valley Tuesday Update
As of 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard remained unchanged from Monday, with a total 312 COVID-19 related deaths in the SCV since the pandemic began.

The following is the community breakdown of the 312 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

5 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

SCV Cases

Of the 32,031 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 23,533

Castaic: 4,052

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

Stevenson Ranch: 1,431

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 985

Acton: 593

Val Verde: 374

Agua Dulce: 338

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 235

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 147

Elizabeth Lake: 91

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 69

Bouquet Canyon: 55

Lake Hughes: 45

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.

L.A. County

“To the families and friends experiencing the sorrow of losing a loved one due to COVID-19, I send my deepest condolences,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Many businesses and worksites are doing their part and we thank all the establishments and businesses that are implementing safety recommendations, including requiring attendees to be vaccinated and layering masking and distancing. To reduce the spread of COVID-19 and the Delta variant, universal masking is now required at all outdoor mega events where thousands of people from many different communities are crowded together, often for extended periods of time. The most sensible way to add protection is to please keep you mask on when in indoor public places or worksites and at outdoor mega events when not eating or drinking.”

L.A. County continues to offer COVID-19 vaccines at many different sites across the county that have weekends and evening hours. Anyone 12 and older living or working in L.A. County can get vaccinated against COVID-19. Many vaccination sites across the county, including all the County-run sites, are also offering third doses of vaccine to eligible immunocompromised people.

To find a vaccination site near you, to make an appointment at vaccination sites, and much more, Visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish) 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 or scheduling a home-visit if you are homebound. 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

California Department of Public Health confirmed Tuesday 4,043,407 cases and 64,201 deaths to date. There are 7,414 confirmed hospitalizations and 1,693 ICU hospitalizations in the state.

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

There were 9,748 newly reported confirmed cases Monday.

Cases are increasing statewide, largely among unvaccinated populations.

– For the week of Aug. 7, the average case rate among unvaccinated Californians is 51 per 100,000 per day and the average case rate among vaccinated Californians is significantly lower at 8.2 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 5.8%.

There have been 77,638,353 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 263,855 during the prior 24-hour reporting period.

There have been COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

As of Aug. 17, according to the CDC, 78.5% of eligible Californians have received at least one dose. Providers have reported to CDPH that a total of 45,454,770 vaccine doses have been administered statewide. Numbers do not represent true day-to-day change as reporting may be delayed. 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 Workers

As of Aug. 16, local health departments have reported 119,199 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 483 deaths statewide.

Stop the Spread: Get Vaccinated for COVID-19

The risk for COVID-19 exposure and infection continues as a number of Californians remain unvaccinated. With the emergence of the more transmissible Delta variant, there is a renewed urgency to get all eligible Californians vaccinated as quickly as possible and complete their two-dose vaccination process if they are receiving Pfizer or Moderna.

CDPH is reminding unvaccinated Californians that the COVID-19 vaccine is safe, free and provides excellent protection from severe COVID-19 illness, including the Delta variant, hospitalization, and death.

Individuals aged 12+ are eligible for vaccination. Visit myturn.ca.gov to make an appointment. Individuals aged 17 and younger may need the consent of a parent or legal guardian for vaccination. Visit Vaccinate All 58 to learn more about the safe and effective vaccines available.

Testing Turnaround Time

The testing turnaround time dashboard reports how long California patients are waiting for COVID-19 test results. During the week of Aug. 1 to Aug. 7, the average time patients waited for test results was one day. During this same time period, 79% of patients received test results in one day and 94% received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

As of Aug. 16, there have been 594 cases of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) 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.

Keep California Healthy
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.

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

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.