Los Angeles County Department of Public Health officials confirmed Tuesday 15 new deaths and 34,827 new cases of COVID-19 countywide, with 53,715 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

According to the latest Public Health data, getting vaccinated against COVID-19 is still the best way to prevent serious illness and death.

In L.A. County cases have continued to increase rapidly across all groups however at significantly lower levels for vaccinated individuals. For the week ending December 25, case rates were much higher for those unvaccinated. There were 991 new cases per 100,000 unvaccinated; 588 cases per 100,000 fully vaccinated without boosters; and 254 cases per 100,000 fully vaccinated with boosters.

The vaccine also continues to provide very strong protection against hospitalization and death. One way to evaluate the protection offered by vaccines is rate ratios. These ratios compare rates of an outcome in unvaccinated people with rates of the same outcome in fully vaccinated people. The higher the rate ratio, the more protective the vaccine is against the outcome.

The hospital rate ratio was 9 when comparing those unvaccinated vs those fully vaccinated without boosters, meaning a 9-fold higher rate of hospitalization for the unvaccinated compared to this protected group. More markedly, the hospital rate ratio was 38 when comparing the unvaccinated vs fully vaccinated with boosters, meaning those fully vaccinated and boosted were 38 times less likely to be hospitalized than those unvaccinated.

Lastly, at the end of December, those fully vaccinated were 22 times less likely to die when compared those unvaccinated. Of note, the rate ratio for deaths has held steady over the course of the latest surge. While increases in deaths generally lag transmission surges, it is clear that increasing the number of people who are vaccinated will help reduce the worst outcomes of COVID infections.

“I send my heartfelt condolences to those families who have lost a loved one due to COVID-19,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Even as transmission surges, we are seeing that vaccines are still the best way to protect ourselves, our families, and our communities from the most serious consequences of COVID.”

“However, at the moment, vaccinations alone are not sufficient to get us back to slowing the spread. We all need to exercise more caution in the weeks ahead. One effective strategy for reducing transmission is to wear a high-quality mask whenever around non-household members. Given the dominance of the highly infectious Omicron variant, well-fitting masks provide a great layer of protection to both the wearer and all those nearby. It is also time to pause those non-essential activities where people are unmasked and in close contact with others. The reality is that parties and events, especially those indoors, make it easy for the virus to spread. Limiting our time with others to those more essential work or school activities is a prudent action for us to take when-ever possible until the surge subsides.”

Today, Public Health confirmed 15 additional deaths and 34,827 new cases of COVID-19. Of the 15 new deaths reported today, one person was between the ages of 18 and 29, one was between the ages of 30-49, five people were between the ages of 50 and 64, three were between the ages of 65-79, and five were over the age of 80 years old. Of the 15 newly reported deaths, 10 had underlying conditions. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 27,812.

Public Health has identified a total 2,046,208 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Today’s positivity rate is 21 percent.

There are 3,766 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 10,395,600 individuals, with 18 percent of people testing positive.

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

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

Remain home when sick, isolate if positive and quarantine when a close contact.

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 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 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).

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital reported Tueday two tests pending, 81 patients in the hospital, a total of 1,801 patients who have been treated and discharged since the pandemic began, and no additional deceased (197 total), confirmed spokesman Patrick Moody.

“We ask those who are looking for COVID-19 testing only to please visit a community testing site, an urgent care clinic, or their primary care physician’s office. To help ensure hospital emergency departments can care for those who have serious symptoms or conditions, please do not visit a hospital emergency room for COVID testing only,” said Moody.

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.

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 reported three additional deaths in the city of Santa Clarita, brining the total of COVID-19 deaths to 379 date.

The following is the community breakdown of the 379 SCV residents who have died, according to the L.A. County dashboard:

313 in Santa Clarita

23 in Castaic

13 in Acton

9 in Stevenson Ranch

7 in unincorporated Canyon Country

5 in Agua Dulce

3 in Val Verde

2 in Valencia

1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon

1 in Elizabeth Lake

1 in Newhall

1 in unincorporated Saugus/Canyon Country

0 in Lake Hughes (**revised from 1)

SCV Cases

Of the 53,715 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

Santa Clarita: 39,785

Castaic: 5,694

Stevenson Ranch: 2,881

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 1,834

Acton: 1,070

Val Verde: 592

Agua Dulce: 569

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 485

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 239

Elizabeth Lake: 152

Bouquet Canyon: 100

Lake Hughes: 104

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 74

Saugus/Canyon Country: 66

Sand Canyon: 34

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 28

Placerita Canyon: 8

*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 released the following data Tuesday. The most up to date data is available on the state’s COVID-19 data dashboard.

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.

Omicron Update

Overall, clinical and wastewater data indicate that Omicron cases are present in most regions of the state. The surveillance data and estimates we have are consistent with CDC reports that about 95 percent of the cases nationwide are Omicron. Data from several sources, including genetic sequencing from COVID-19 patients, wastewater surveillance, and reports from health care partners, indicate that the proportion of cases due to the Omicron variant is increasing rapidly. Additionally, genetic sequencing does not represent real-time data, as sequencing generally occurs several days or more after initial tests are positive for COVID-19.

Vaccinations

– 66,518,035 total vaccines administered.

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

– 179,723 people a day are receiving COVID-19 vaccination (average daily dose count over 7 days).

Cases

– California has 6,086,557 confirmed cases to date.

– Monday’s average case count is 59,604 (average daily case count over 7 days).

Testing

The testing positivity rate is 22.4 percent (average rate over 7 days).

Hospitalizations

(*Note: As of Jan. 5, 2022, hospitalized and ICU patients only reflect confirmed COVID-19 cases).

– There are 11,815* hospitalizations statewide.

– There are 1,813* ICU patients statewide.

– Unvaccinated people were 10.1 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 (data from Dec. 13, 2021 to Dec. 19, 2021).

Deaths
– There have been 76,564 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

– COVID-19 claims the lives of 48 Californians each day (average daily death count over 7 days).
Unvaccinated people were 16.6 times more likely to die from COVID-19 (data from Dec. 6, 2021 to Dec. 12, 2021).

Health Care Workers

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 Dec. 25 to Jan. 1, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.2 days. During this same time period, 65% of patients received test results in one day and 92 percent received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

As of Jan. 3, there have been 779 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.