The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health on Wednesday confirmed 51 new deaths and 1,457 new cases of COVID-19, including 14 new cases in the Santa Clarita Valley, bringing the SCV total to 5,445 confirmed cases and 55 deaths since the pandemic began.

To date, Public Health has identified 243,935 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County, and a total of 5,878 deaths.

There are currently 1,048 patients hospitalized, 31% of them confirmed cases in the ICU.

“I want to extend my sincere sympathy to all our L.A. County residents that are grieving the loss of a family member, friend, co-worker or loved one,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Your loss is not unnoticed, and we keep you in our hearts during these days of sadness.”

“Right now, a cautious and tiered reopening — with close monitoring of what happens to our data in the weeks to follow — is needed to ensure we are not experiencing significant spikes in cases, hospitalizations and deaths, as we saw in July after re-openings and holidays,” Ferrer said.

“As we slowly reopen sectors, we will watch closely how it is impacting community transmission,” she said. “The longer our county’s 7-day average case rate remains above 7, as determined by the state, the longer we will remain in the state’s most restrictive Tier. In addition, once both our 7-day average case rate and 7-day average positivity percentage meet the criteria for Tier 2, they must stay there for at least two weeks before we can be moved to the next less restrictive Tier.”

California Wednesday Snapshot

Statewide, as of Tuesday, September 1, the California Department of Public Health confirmed a total of 712,502 COVID-19 cases (up 4,255), with 13,163 deaths from the disease (up 145).

There are 3,773 confirmed hospitalizations and 1,197 ICU hospitalizations in the state, continuing a downward trend.

California’s 7-day positivity rate is 4.4% and the 14-day positivity rate is 5.1%, also continuing a downward trend.

There have been 11,580,370 tests conducted in California, an increase of 109,674 over the prior 24-hour reporting period.

As of September 1, local health departments have reported 32,644 confirmed positive COVID-19 cases in healthcare workers and 150 deaths statewide.

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

COVID Around the World: USA Tops the Chart
Worldwide, 25,860,475 people have been infected by COVID-19 while 859,478 people have died as of 3:28 Wednesday afternoon, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Since the pandemic began, more than 6,110,535 Americans have been diagnosed with COVID-19, while the number of people in the U.S. who have died due to the virus has surpassed 185,644.

The United States has the world’s highest numbers of cases and deaths. By comparison, Brazil, at #2, had confirmed 3,950,931 million cases and 122,596 deaths as of Wednesday afternoon.

Santa Clarita Valley Wednesday Update

The L.A. County Public Health COVID-19 data dashboard as of the latest update at 8 p.m. Monday, August 31 has confirmed 55 SCV residents have died of the virus since the pandemic began.

Of the dead, 43 lived in the city of Santa Clarita, 5 in Castaic, 2 in Acton, 2 in Stevenson Ranch, 1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon, 1 in Val Verde, and 1 in unincorporated Valencia.

Of the 5,445 cases reported to Public Health among SCV residents to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 3,024

Castaic: 1,906 (most from Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility*)

Stevenson Ranch: 154

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 118

Val Verde: 63

Acton: 61

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 41

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 26

Agua Dulce: 25

Bouquet Canyon: 6

Elizabeth Lake: 6

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 6

Sand Canyon: 6

Lake Hughes: 2

Saugus/Canyon Country: 1

*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.

Henry Mayo Wednesday Update
Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital on Monday, August 31 reported its 22nd death since the pandemic began, according to hospital spokesman Patrick Moody.

As of Wednesday, September 2, of the 6,951 people tested at Henry Mayo to date, 799 tested positive, 7,990 were negative, 19 were pending, 10 patients were hospitalized in a dedicated unit receiving ICU-level care (same as the previous Wednesday), and a total of 238 COVID-19 patients have been discharged so far. COVID-19 fatalities at Henry Mayo stand at 22, Moody said.

Discrepancies in the testing numbers are due to some patients being tested multiple times. “Often a single patient is tested more than once,” Moody said.

Henry Mayo now releases statistics weekly, on Wednesdays, unless there is a drastic change in the number of cases or a COVID-related death has been confirmed.

L.A. County Demographics

Of the 50 new deaths reported today (excluding Long Beach and Pasadena), 22 people who died were over the age of 80, 15 people were between 65 and 79 years old, eight people were between 50 and 64 years old, three people were between 30 and 49 years old and two people were between 18 and 29 years old.

Thirty-four people who died had underlying health conditions including 17 people over the age of 80, 10 people between 65 and 79 years old, six people between 50 and 64 years old and one person between 30 and 49.

Cases by Age Group (Los Angeles County only — excluding Long Beach and Pasadena)

* 0 to 4 3758

* 5 to 11 8219

* 12 to 17 10192

* 18 to 29 57192

* 30 to 49 79337

* 50 to 64 44646

* 65 to 79 17714

* over 80 8398

* Under Investigation 1418

Countywide, 92% of people who died had underlying health conditions.

L.A. County Demographics: Race/Ethnicity

Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 5,535 people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health); 51% of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 23% among White residents, 15% among Asian residents, 10% among African American/Black residents, less than 1% among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander residents and 1% among residents identifying with other races.

Homeless Population & Shelter Worker Update

At the outset of the pandemic, Public Health had grave concerns for people experiencing homelessness as this population was unable to just “stay at home” as we advised everyone to do in March.

However, the data that we are seeing up to this point show these fears have not come to fruition.

As of August 27, 19,715 people experiencing homelessness have been tested (with 28,502 tests) with a 1.87% positivity rate. As of last week, there have been 1,589 cases among people experiencing homelessness and 160 cases among people who work at shelters.

Since March, 448 people who were experiencing homelessness have been referred for isolation and 1,040 people have been referred for quarantine. There were early spikes in cases in April and May due to an outbreak at a large shelter and due to wider testing in shelters. Since then, the number has remained fairly stable.

Tragically, we have seen deaths among both people who were experiencing homelessness as well as people who were working in shelters. To date, 41 people who were experiencing homelessness and 2 people who were working in shelters have passed away from COVID-19. And, in the last month, 15 people passed away, which may be related to the spikes in cases we saw across our county in the month of July.

The above graphic illustrates the 7-day number of cases per 100,000 people – from April 1 through August 28. In April, when all non-essential businesses were closed, L.A. County saw 400 new cases a day with an increase to 1,000 daily cases by the end of the month. Once businesses reopened (coinciding with the Memorial Day & July 4th holidays), L.A. County saw a rapid increase in cases – rising to 3,000 new cases a day in mid-July.

Since implementing additional modifications (including moving many activities outdoors and increasing compliance activities at worksites), the number of new cases in L.A. County has dropped to an average of 1,200 this past week.

While this is good news, L.A. County is still seeing far too many new cases, indicative of widespread community transmission.

That is why Public Health officials urge you to consider these 6 tips for staying safe this holiday weekend:

Great Plates Delivered: Sign Up by Sept. 9

L.A. County’s Great Plates Delivered program can help a local senior or business in your community. The meal assistance program offers eligible seniors with three (3) home-delivered meals a day. Seniors over 65, seniors 60-64 years of age who have been diagnosed or exposed to COVID-19 or those at high-risk for COVID-19 may qualify. When you help a senior connect to Great Plates Delivered you’re also helping your local restaurant, hospitality and transportation community get back to work.

Click here to sign up before September 9.

L.A. County Public Health’s Reopening Protocols, COVID-19 Surveillance Interactive Dashboard, Roadmap to Recovery, Recovery Dashboard, and additional things you can do to protect yourself, your family and your community are on the Public Health website, www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

California Blueprint for a Safer Economy

Governor Newsom’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy imposes risk-based criteria on tightening and loosening COVID-19 allowable activities and expands the length of time between changes to assess how any movement affects the trajectory of the disease.

Californians can go to covid19.ca.gov to find out where their county falls and what activities are allowable in each county.

California County Monitoring Data

As of Wednesday, a total of 34 California counties including Los Angeles are required to close indoor operations for certain sectors based on the July 13 order to slow community transmission.

Counties on the County Monitoring List for three or more consecutive days must have closed indoor operations for additional activities.

The July 13 order specifies that these indoor operations shall remain closed, even when a county is removed from the county monitoring list until the state health officer modifies the order and authorizes re-opening. The state is actively reassessing the July 13 order in light of evolving scientific evidence regarding disease transmission and the risk of transmission in different settings and will provide updates in the coming week.

For more information, visit the County Data Monitoring webpage.

California Testing Sites

More than 85 community testing sites offer free, confidential testing: Find a COVID-19 Testing Site.

The CDPH released updated testing guidance on July 23 that focuses on testing hospitalized individuals with signs or symptoms of COVID-19 and people being tested as part of the investigation and management of outbreaks, including contact tracing.

The testing guidance also prioritizes individuals who have COVID-19 symptoms and individuals without symptoms who fall into high-risk categories, including people who live and work in nursing homes, homeless shelters and prisons, healthcare workers, and patients in hospitals.

The new guidance will ensure that Californians who most need tests get them even if there are limited supplies.

California Demographics

Overall, for adults 18 and older, Latinos, African Americans and Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are dying at disproportionately higher levels.

The proportion of COVID-19 deaths in African Americans is more than one-and-a-half times their population representation across all adult age categories. For Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, overall numbers are low, but almost double between the proportion of COVID-19 deaths and their population representation.

More males are dying from COVID-19 than females, in line with national trends.

More information is available at COVID-19 Race and Ethnicity Data

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

Each week, the California Department of Public Health updates the number of cases of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) reported in the state.

As of August 31, there have been 57 cases of MIS-C reported statewide, an increase of 10 over the previous week.

To protect patient confidentiality in counties with fewer than 11 cases, CDPH is not providing total counts at this time.

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.

Parents should be aware of the signs and symptoms of MIS-C including fever that does not go away, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, neck pain, rash, bloodshot eyes or feeling tired.

Contact your child’s doctor immediately if your child has these symptoms. Early diagnosis and treatment of patients are critical to preventing long-term complications.

Protect Yourself and Your Family

Every person has a role to play. Protecting yourself and your family comes down to common sense:

* Staying home except for essential needs/activities following local and state public health guidelines when patronizing approved businesses. To the extent that sectors are re-opened, Californians may leave their homes to work at, patronize, or otherwise engage with those businesses, establishments or activities.

* Practicing social distancing

* Wearing a cloth face mask when out in public

* Washing hands with soap and water for a minimum of 20 seconds

* Avoiding touching eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands

* Covering a cough or sneeze with your sleeve, or disposable tissue. Wash your hands afterward

* Avoiding close contact with people who are sick

* Staying away from work, school or other people if you become sick with respiratory symptoms like fever and cough

* Following guidance from public health officials

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.

It’s important if someone thinks they could be positive for COVID-19 and are awaiting testing results to stay at home and act as if they are positive. This means self-isolating for 10 days and 72 hours after symptoms and fever subside.

If a person tests positive for COVID-19, they should plan on receiving a call from a public health specialist to discuss how to protect themselves and others, to find out where they may have been, and who they were in close contact with while infectious.

California COVID-19 Data and Tools

A wide range of data and analysis guides California’s response to COVID-19. The state is making the data and its analytical tools available to researchers, scientists and the public at covid19.ca.gov.

* The Statewide COVID-19 Dashboard

* The California COVID-19 Assessment Tool (CalCAT)

* State Cases and Deaths Associated with COVID-19 by Age Group

* COVID-19 Race & Ethnicity Data

* COVID-19 Hospital Data and Case Statistics

* View additional datasets at the California Open Data Portal (including Testing Data, PPE Logistics Data, Hospital Data, Homeless Impact and more)

Consolidated guidance is available on the California Department of Public Health’s Guidance webpage.

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Always check with trusted sources for the latest accurate information about novel coronavirus (COVID-19):

* Los Angeles County Department of Public Health

* California Department of Public Health

* Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

* Spanish

* World Health Organization

* Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 Dashboard

L.A. County residents can also call 2-1-1.

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