The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed two new deaths throughout L.A. County, 2,294 new cases countywide and 68 new cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

This new data brings Los Angeles County death totals to 32,263, county case totals to 3,071,314 and Santa Clarita Valley case totals to 80,067, with 479 total SCV deaths from COVID-19 since March of 2020.

There are 664 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 12,130,101 individuals, with 23% of people testing positive.

Of the two new deaths reported today, two people were aged 80 years or older. Of the two newly reported deaths, all had underlying health conditions.

Today’s positivity rate is 10.6%.

Data is by date reported by DPH, but does not necessarily represent the date of testing, hospitalization, or death.

L.A. County Cases Appear to Stabilize But Transmission is Still High

Although cases appear to stabilize, COVID transmission in L.A. County remains high due to highly infectious Omicron variant sublineages. With high transmission, Public Health continues to encourage caution and the layering of protections, such as masking, testing, and staying away from others if you are sick. These safety measures remain essential to slowing the spread.

The Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus continued to account for all positive cases for sequenced specimens collected through the week ending May 28, as 90% of specimens testing positive were the BA.2 subvariant of Omicron, and its sublineages. The original BA.2 subvariant, and the BA.2.3 sublineage, continued to decrease. The BA.2.12.1 sublineage remains, by far, the predominant sublineage of BA.2, accounting for over 58% of positive sequenced specimens for the week ending May 28.

While the highly infectious BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of Omicron continue to remain at low levels in LA County, increased numbers of new cases are detected every week. To date, we have detected a total of 98 positive, sequenced specimens of these two subvariants – 57 of BA.4 and 41 of BA.5. For the week ending May 28, these two subvariants combined accounted for 7.5% of positive specimens, with BA.4 accounting for 3.5%, and BA.5 accounting for 4%.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that across the country, as of the week of June 11, the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of Omicron combined accounted for just under 22% of specimens, a large increase from 1% a month ago. They appear increasingly able to outcompete the BA.2 subvariant and its sublineages.

The number of daily new cases remains high but has stabilized. Over the last seven days the average number of daily new cases reported was 4,260, an 11% decrease from one week ago when the average number of daily new cases reported was 4,788. Additionally, the average case rate also decreased by 11% to 42 new cases per 100,000 people from one week ago when there were 47 new cases per 100,000 people. Despite these metrics stabilizing, the test positivity rate has now increased to 10.6%, a 63% increase from one week ago when the test positivity rate was 6.5%. This increase in the test positivity rate likely reflects the significant reduction, with the end of the school year, in the volume of routine testing. As a result, a greater proportion of the testing is for individuals with symptoms and/or exposures, leading to a higher test positivity rate.

The highly infectious variants and sublineages continue to fuel the number of people severely ill and needing to be hospitalized, although the increase in hospitalizations appear to be slowing. Over the last seven days, the average number of COVID-positive patients per day in L.A. County hospitals was 636, only a 10% increase from one week ago when the average number of COVID-positive patients per day was 583.

Deaths, which typically lag hospitalizations by several weeks are remaining low and stable with an average of five deaths reported per day this past week.

With pediatric vaccines for children as young as 6 months old approved by the CDC, the vaccines will be widely available across the county beginning tomorrow.

The CDC approved the Pfizer-BioNTech’s three-dose vaccine for children age 6 months through 4 years, and Moderna’s two-dose vaccines for children age 6 months through age 5.

In L.A. County, more than 900 vaccination sites are scheduled to offer the vaccines to these youngest children including more than 500 mobile sites, 200 pharmacies and seven Public Health Points of Dispensing. Because some of the pharmacy sites are only licensed to vaccinate children age 3 and older, parents are encouraged to reach out ahead of time to verify hours and availability.

Parents can also visit the Public Health website at L.A. County Vaccinations or the Spanish language website Vacunate LosAngeles to learn about locations, and schedules for clinics offering these and other COVID-19 vaccines. Parents are highly encouraged to call ahead of time to ensure vaccine availability.

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. “While several COVID metrics appear to be stabilizing or even slightly decreasing, transmission remains high and Public Health continues strongly encouraging residents and businesses to use caution and the safety protections that we know can slow the spread. The most important steps we can take is for the whole family to get vaccinated or boosted, if eligible, including the youngest members of the household who can now get vaccinated. Residents should also wear a mask indoors when around others, and get tested if they feel sick, were exposed, or are gathering with others. If we keep taking these protections, we can protect one another and begin reducing transmission.”

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

Santa Clarita Valley Tuesday Update
As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard reported no additional deaths in the city of Santa Clarita, leaving the total number of deaths from COVID-19 in the SCV at 479.

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

Santa Clarita: 390

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: 1

Newhall: 1

unincorporated Saugus/Canyon Country: 1

Lake Hughes: 1

SCV Cases

Of the 80,067 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

Santa Clarita: 59,019

Castaic: 8,205

Stevenson Ranch: 4,653

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 2,881

Acton: 1,622

Val Verde: 902

Agua Dulce: 832

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 765

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 352

Elizabeth Lake: 221

Bouquet Canyon: 159

Lake Hughes: 166

Saugus/Canyon Country: 98

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 89

Sand Canyon: 51

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 36

Placerita Canyon: 16

*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, June 21.

Vaccinations

– 77,234,258 total vaccines administered.

– 83.8% of the eligible population (5+) has been vaccinated with at least one dose.

– 35,537 people a day are receiving COVID-19 vaccination (average daily dose count over 7 days).

Cases

– California has 9,264,968 confirmed cases to date.

– Friday’s average case count is 14,380 (average daily case count over 7 days).

– Unvaccinated people are 5.3 times more likely to get COVID-19 than boosted individuals (May 23, 2022 – May 29, 2022).

Testing

– The testing positivity rate is 11.4% (average rate over 7 days).

Hospitalizations

– There are 2,862 hospitalizations statewide.

– There are 310 ICU patients statewide.

– Unvaccinated people are 7.4 times more likely to be hospitalized than boosted individuals (May 23, 2022 – May 29, 2022).

Deaths

– There have been 91,314 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

– COVID-19 claims the lives of 15 Californians each day (average daily death count over 7 days).

– Unvaccinated people are 10.5 times more likely to die than boosted individuals (May 16, 2022 – May 22, 2022).

Health Care Workers

As of June 16, local health departments have reported 165,357 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 580 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 June 5 to June 11, the average time patients waited for test results was 0.8 day. During this same time period, 90% of patients received test results in one day and 97% received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

As of June 20, there have been 1,000 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.

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 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.