The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed 13 new deaths throughout L.A. County, 2,335 new cases countywide and 53 new cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

This new data brings Los Angeles County death totals to 32,869, county case totals to 3,338,352 and Santa Clarita Valley case totals to 87,639, with 490 total SCV deaths from COVID-19 since March of 2020.

There are 1,151 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 12,378,171 individuals, with 24% of people testing positive.

Of the 13 new deaths reported today, one person was between the ages of 30-49, two people were between the ages of 50-64, four people were between the ages of 65-79, and six people were aged 80 years or older. Of the 13 newly reported deaths, all had underlying health conditions.

Today’s positivity rate is 12.7%.

As Schools Prepare to Reopen, Sensible Steps Are Recommended to Reduce Risk

Throughout the pandemic, many children have been infected with COVID-19. Over the past 30-day period ending August 6, 13,438 children ages 5 to 17 were confirmed COVID-19 cases in LA County, representing 9% of all reported cases during that time period.

While most children experience mild illness, there is no way to know in advance how children will be affected by COVID-19. Many children in L.A. County experienced serious illness and required hospitalization after becoming infected with COVID-19. To date, there have been 1,866 children ages 5 to 17 hospitalized with COVID-19.

Although very rare, COVID-19 cases among children can sometimes result a few weeks later in a very serious, post-infection illness known as Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), a condition where different body parts become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs. In total, over the course of the pandemic, Public Health has confirmed 314 cases of MIS-C.

Tragically, since the pandemic began in 2020, there have been 12 pediatric deaths, two younger than age 5, three children ages 5 to 11 and seven children ages 12 to 17.

Vaccines continue to provide the best protection against severe illness in children, as children who are unvaccinated are more likely to become seriously ill and require hospitalization. In fact, for the 90-day period ending July 21, unvaccinated children ages 12 to 17, were more than four times more likely to be hospitalized than vaccinated children in the same age group.

Since vaccinations provide the best protection against severe illness, parents are urged to make sure that they and their children are up-to-date on their vaccinations and boosters.

Currently, 35% of school-age children ages 5-11 are fully vaccinated, which is far less than the 79% of school-age children ages 12-17 who are fully vaccinated.

Getting vaccinated has never been easier, as across the county there are hundreds of locations for children to get vaccinated, including 163 mobile vaccination sites at schools this week. Parents can visit the Public Health website at VaccinateLACounty.com or VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish) to learn about locations and schedules for clinics offering COVID-19 vaccines.

For those who have any questions about vaccine safety and effectiveness, please reach out to your pediatrician or clinician or speak with a Public Health staff member at the COVID-19 call center, 1-833-540-0473 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8:30 p.m., seven days a week.

“I send my deepest sympathies and wishes of peace and comfort to the many families who have lost a loved one from COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “With 9% of new cases the past 30 days among school-aged children, staff, parents, and students are asked to adhere to Public Health safety measures at schools that can limit spread. This includes making sure that those who are sick do not come to school, those who are infected, follow isolation protocols, and those with symptoms and/or exposures get tested. Everyone is urged to wear a mask when indoors and to continue following good hand hygiene. Students and staff should take advantage of the ample supply of vaccines to be up-to-date on their vaccinations. Following these sensible steps helps reduce illness and absences, lowering the risk of disruption at schools. We can also each do our part to support safety at schools by taking practical steps to reduce community transmission since, as we know too well, high case rates in the community create additional risk for spread at schools and worksites.”

A wide range of data and dashboards on COVID-19 from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health are available on the Public Health website at http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

To keep workplaces and schools open, residents and workers are asked to:

– Get tested to help reduce the spread, especially if you traveled for the holidays, have had a possible exposure, or have symptoms, or are gathering with people not in your household

– Adhere to masking requirements when indoors or at crowded outdoor spaces, regardless of vaccination status

– Residents are legally required to be isolated if they have a positive COVID test result and vaccinated close contacts with symptoms and unvaccinated close contacts need to be quarantined.

For information on where you can get tested, please visit www.covid19.lacounty.gov/testing/.

For updated isolation and quarantine guidance, please visit www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective and are recommended for everyone 5 years old and older to help protect against COVID-19. Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status. Appointments are not needed at all Public Health vaccination sites and many community sites where first, second, and third doses are available.

To find a vaccination site near you, or to make an appointment, please visit:

www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) or

www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish).

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.

Schools Community Dashboard

Student Dashboard

Staff Dashboard

Santa Clarita Valley Tuesday Update
As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard reported no additional deaths leaving the total number of deaths from COVID-19 in the SCV at 490.

The following is the community breakdown per L.A. County’s dashboard:

Santa Clarita: 400

Castaic: 31

Acton: 17

Stevenson Ranch: 15

Unincorporated Canyon Country: 9 (revised from 10)

Agua Dulce: 6

Val Verde: 3 (revised from 4)

Valencia: 2

Unincorporated Bouquet Canyon: 2

Elizabeth Lake: 2

Newhall: 1

unincorporated Saugus/Canyon Country: 1

Lake Hughes: 1
 

SCV Cases

Of the 87,639 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

Santa Clarita: 64,693

Castaic: 8,818

Stevenson Ranch: 5,178

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 3,182

Acton: 1,757

Val Verde: 968

Agua Dulce: 896

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 838

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 389

Elizabeth Lake: 240

Bouquet Canyon: 183

Lake Hughes: 182

Saugus/Canyon Country: 105

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 96

Sand Canyon: 56

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 40

Placerita Canyon: 18

*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.

California Tuesday

The California Department of Public Health now updates their numbers on Tuesday and Friday. The information below is from the most recent data released Tuesday, Aug. 9.

Vaccinations

– 78,998,017 total vaccines administered.

– 79.9% of the eligible population (5+) has been vaccinated with at least one dose.

– 32,891 people a day are receiving COVID-19 vaccination (average daily dose count over 7 days).

Cases

– California has 10,071,958 confirmed cases to date.

– Tuesday’s average case count is 13,524 (average daily case count over 7 days).

– Unvaccinated people are 6.9 times more likely to get COVID-19 than boosted individuals (July 11, 2022 – July 17, 2022).

Testing

– The testing positivity rate is 12.7% (average rate over 7 days).

Hospitalizations

– There are 4,228 hospitalizations statewide.

– There are 474 ICU patients statewide.

– Unvaccinated people are 11.7 times more likely to be hospitalized than boosted individuals (July 11, 2022 – July 17, 2022).

Deaths

– There have been 93,193 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

– COVID-19 claims the lives of 32 Californians each day (average daily death count over 7 days).

– Unvaccinated people are 11.2 times more likely to die than boosted individuals (July 4, 2022 – July 10, 2022).

Health Care Workers

As of Aug. 4, local health departments have reported 175,312 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 587 deaths statewide.

Testing Turnaround Time

The testing turnaround time dashboard reports how long California patients are waiting for COVID-19 test results. During the week of July 24 to July 30, the average time patients waited for test results was 0.8 day. During this same time period, 87% of patients received test results in one day and 97% received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

As of Aug. 8, there have been 1011 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.

Preparing for a Healthy 2022-23 School Year

The Safe Schools for All Hub consolidates key resources and information related to COVID-19 and schools.

Learn more about the COVID-19 mitigation strategies to keep students, staff, and communities safe in the 2022-23 K-12 Schools Guidance.

Get more information on changes to COVID-19 testing strategies for the 2022-23 school year in the 2022-23 K-12 Schools Testing Framework.

The CDPH Testing Taskforce School Testing team has released a 2022-2023 K-12 Schools Testing Framework Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).

Additional Updates

Mask Guidance: Under California’s mask guidance, universal masking is required only in specified higher risk settings like hospitals, public transit and congregate living facilities. Unvaccinated persons are required to mask in all indoor public settings. Fully vaccinated individuals are recommended to continue indoor masking when the risk may be high. Workplaces will continue to follow the COVID-19 prevention standards set by CalOSHA. Local health jurisdictions may implement requirements that are stricter than state guidance.

Slow the Spread: Get Vaccinated and Boosted for COVID-19

The risk for COVID-19 exposure and infection continues as a number of Californians remain unvaccinated and unboosted.

Real-world evidence continues to show that the vaccine is preventing severe illness, hospitalization, and death. Public health officials urge Californians to get vaccinated and boosted as soon as possible.

It is recommended that every individual six months of age and older receive their primary COVID-19 vaccine series and booster dose.

It is recommended that every vaccinated person 12 years or older should get a booster as long as they received their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine at least five months ago or they received their Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least two months ago.

Vaccination appointments can be made by visiting myturn.ca.gov or calling 1-833-422-4255. The consent of a parent or legal guardian may be needed for those under age 18 to receive a vaccination. Visit Vaccinate All 58 to learn more about the safe and effective vaccines available for all Californians 5+.

Your Actions Save Lives

Protect yourself, family, friends and your community by following these prevention measures:

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.