Los Angeles County Department of Public Health officials confirmed Tuesday 51 new deaths and 4,198 new cases of COVID-19 countywide, with 70,446 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

With the Omicron surge continuing its decline, Public Health officials caution that “post-surge” does not indicate an end to the pandemic but rather that COVID-19 metrics are stabilizing across the county.

For the week ending Feb. 7, L.A. County reported an average of 9,800 daily cases, representing a 47% decrease from the average of 18,617 daily cases reported the previous week. Similarly, the daily average case rate decreased to 102 positive cases per 100,000 residents for the week ending Feb. 7, compared to 193 positive cases per 100,000 residents for the prior week, representing a 47% decline in the average daily case rate. The seven-day average daily test positivity rate also declined from 8% to 5%, a 40% decline from the week prior.

In addition to the encouraging case and test positivity trends, hospital admissions for COVID-positive patients in L.A. County have also significantly declined. For the week ending Feb. 7, the seven-day average of daily hospital admissions decreased by 111 admissions from the prior week to 310 admissions; this represents a 26% decline in County hospital admissions. Today there are 2,702 patients with COVID hospitalized.

Public Health will consider L.A. County to be “post-surge” when COVID daily hospitalizations drop below 2,500 for seven consecutive days.

Once L.A. County enters post surge, masking will no longer be required in outdoor spaces at outdoor Mega Events or in outdoor spaces at childcare facilities and K-12 schools. The masking requirement at indoor establishments will continue until:

L.A. County has two consecutive weeks at or below Moderate Transmission10, -49.99 new cases/100,000 persons in the past seven days, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention OR
vaccines have been available for children under age five for eight weeks; AND
No emerging reports of significantly circulating new variants of concern that threaten vaccine effectiveness.
Per state regulations, indoor masking at K-12 schools, childcare facilities, youth settings, healthcare settings, correctional facilities, homeless and emergency shelters and cooling centers is still required.

Additionally, per federal regulations, masking when riding public transit and in transportation is still required.

Employers must also continue to provide high quality and well-fitting masks to workers who are in close contact with others until transmission is lower. Vaccination verification will also continue at mega events and indoor sections of bars, lounges, nightclubs, wineries, breweries, and distilleries.

“I send my heartfelt condolences to everyone mourning the loss of a loved one due to COVID-19,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Post surge does not mean the pandemic is over or that transmission is low or that there will not be additional unpredictable waves of surges in the future that will require integrated public health measures. Rather, post surge acknowledges that we’re stabilizing with consistent declines from the surge peak and it realigns our current public health response to meet current mitigation needs. And with the current levels of transmission, the safest action for all of us is to protect ourselves and our essential workers by layering in protections, which include testing, vaccinations, infection control, and masking. Being cautious still makes sense and doing everything we can to drive down the high rate of transmission is an appropriate goal for us to continue to embrace as a community as the steps we’re taking are helping us move in the right direction.”

Today, Public Health confirmed 51 additional deaths and 4,198 new cases of COVID-19. Of the 51 new deaths reported today, three people were between the ages of 30-49, seven were between the ages of 50-64, 13 were between the ages of 65-79, and 24 were aged 80 years or older. Of the 51 newly reported deaths, 43 had underlying health conditions. Information on the four deaths reported by the City of Long Beach is available at www.LongBeach.gov. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 29,506.

Public Health has reported a total of 2,735,688 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Today’s positivity rate is 5%.

There are 2,702 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 11,202,900 individuals, with 22% of people testing positive.

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital reported Friday zero tests pending, 35 patients in the hospital, a total of 2,107 patients who have been treated and discharged since the pandemic began and no additional deceased, confirmed spokesman Patrick Moody.

“We strongly encourage everyone to follow CDC guidelines to protect themselves and those around them,” Moody 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 generally lags 48 hours behind.

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.

Student Dashboard

Staff Dashboard

Santa Clarita Valley Tuesday Update
As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard reports no additional deaths from COVID-19 leaving the total number of COVID-19 deaths to date in the SCV to 412.

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

Santa Clarita: 336

Castaic: 27

Acton: 15

Unincorporated Canyon Country: 9 (revised from 10)

Stevenson Ranch: 10

Agua Dulce: 5

Val Verde: 3

Valencia: 2

Unincorporated Bouquet Canyon: 2

Elizabeth Lake: 1

Newhall: 1

unincorporated Saugus/Canyon Country: 1

Lake Hughes: 0 (**revised from 1)

SCV Cases

Of the 70,446 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

Santa Clarita: 52,381

Castaic: 6,942

Stevenson Ranch: 3,874

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 2,501

Acton: 1,468

Val Verde: 808

Agua Dulce: 765

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 651

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 303

Elizabeth Lake: 198

Bouquet Canyon: 147

Lake Hughes: 139

Saugus/Canyon Country: 87

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 87

Sand Canyon: 46

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 34

Placerita Canyon: 15

*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

State Public Health Leaders Modify Omicron Surge Policies as COVID-19 Conditions Improve:

SACRAMENTO – As COVID-19 conditions continue to improve across California and the Omicron surge subsides, temporary measures the state had put in place will expire in the coming weeks.

COVID-19 cases and the rate of community transmission have steadily decreased statewide since early January, and hospitalizations are either plateauing or declining in most regions of the state. Since California’s peak during the Omicron surge, the state has experienced a 65% decrease in case rates.

Additional visitation requirements that took effect on January 7 for long-term care facilities will expire today. Definitions for indoor and outdoor mega events will return to pre-surge guidance (from 500 to 1,000 attendees for indoor events, and 5,000 to 10,000 attendees for outdoor events) after February 15. The indoor masking requirement will expire after February 15 reverting to the previous guidance which requires masking for unvaccinated individuals in all indoor public settings and required masking for all individuals regardless of vaccination status in higher risk settings like public transit and congregate living. Workplaces will continue to follow the COVID-19 prevention standards set by CalOSHA.

The state is continuing to work with education, public health and community leaders to update masking requirements at schools to adapt to changing conditions and ensure the safety of kids, teachers, and staff.

Additional adjustments to the state’s policies will be shared in the coming week.

“Omicron has loosened its hold on California, vaccines for children under 5 are around the corner, and access to COVID-19 treatments is improving,” said Dr. Tomás J. Aragón, CDPH Director and State Public Health Officer. “With things moving in the right direction, we are making responsible modifications to COVID-19 prevention measures, while also continuing to develop a longer-term action plan for the state.”

Additional information on visitation requirements can be found here:

CDPH All Facilities Letter

CDSS Provider Information Notice

Statewide COVID-19 Data

Cases, hospitalizations and deaths are largely occurring among unvaccinated populations. See the data for unvaccinated and vaccinated cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

Vaccinations

– 70,263,039 total vaccines administered.

– 82.3% of the eligible population (5+) has been vaccinated with at least one dose.

– 85,545 people a day are receiving COVID-19 vaccination (average daily dose count over 7 days).

Cases

– California has 8,127,081 confirmed cases to date.

– Today’s average case count is 41,833 (average daily case count over 7 days).

– Unvaccinated people are 7.5 times more likely to get COVID-19 than boosted individuals (Jan. 10, 2022 – Jan. 16, 2022).

Testing

– The testing positivity rate is 8.8% (average rate over 7 days).

Hospitalizations

– There are 10,412 hospitalizations statewide.

– There are 2,007 ICU patients statewide.

– Unvaccinated people are 14.9 times more likely to be hospitalized than boosted individuals (Jan. 10, 2022 – Jan. 16, 2022).

Deaths

– There have been 80,640 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

– COVID-19 claims the lives of 129 Californians each day (average daily death count over 7 days).

– Unvaccinated people are 30.0 times more likely to die than boosted individuals (Jan. 1, 2022 – Jan. 9, 2022).

Health Care Workers

Note: There has been no update of positive cases among health care workers since Jan. 6. As of Jan. 6, local health departments have reported 136,816 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 540 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 Jan. 23 to Jan. 29, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.4 days. During this same time period, 71% of patients received test results in one day and 88% received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

As of Feb. 7, there have been 809 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.

COVID-19 Wastewater Surveillance

CDPH and the California State Water Resources Control Board are coordinating with several wastewater utilities, local health departments, universities and laboratories in California to monitor wastewater surveillance for the virus causing COVID-19. An explanation of wastewater surveillance, list of participating sites and related resources can be found on this webpage.

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.