The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health on Wednesday reported 49 new deaths and 4,311 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 countywide since Tuesday, including 96 new cases in the Santa Clarita Valley, as Henry Mayo on Wednesday afternoon reported its second death this week.

The SCV has now tallied 9,230 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 83 deaths from the virus since the pandemic began.

Public Health officials continue to see troubling increases in key indicators, including daily new cases, hospitalizations, and test positivity rates.

Testing results are available for more than 3,625,000 individuals with 10% of all people testing positive for COVID-19.

The county’s daily test positivity rate, or the percentage of tests that come back positive, has also increased significantly from 3.9% on November 1 to 7.3% today.

To date, Public Health has counted 7,543 confirmed COVID-19 deaths and 373,323 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. county. Upon further investigation, 122 cases and three deaths reported earlier were not county residents.

“Our hearts go out to everyone facing the sorrow of losing a loved one to COVID-19. Our thoughts are also with all of our healthcare workers, who are skillfully caring for the sick among us,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of L.A. County Public Health.

Hospitalizations Increasing Sharply

With increasing cases, health officials see hospitalizations sharply increasing.

There are 1,682 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 25% of these people are in the ICU. On November 1, the average daily number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 was 791. The daily number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 has increased nearly every day since the beginning of November.

With accelerated COVID-19 transmission and hospitalizations, the county may tragically see increases in people dying from COVID-19.

These last two days, L.A. County has experienced an average of 50 deaths per day. Public Health is monitoring the number of people dying closely. COVID-19 deaths reflect transmission that occurred several weeks ago.

“The alarming increase in cases is not due to random events out of our control,” Ferrer said. “Many of these cases could have been prevented if individuals and businesses were following the straightforward public health measures of masking, distancing and infection control.

She continued: “Unless we unite behind the belief that each of us has a responsibility to protect others, we will face a devastating holiday season. Our choices matter and following the rules that reduce virus transmission is the only way to get back to slowing the spread.

Because people who are infected with COVID-19 can unknowingly spread the disease to many others, including those who have underlying health conditions with increased risk for serious illness and death, Public Health requires everyone to always wear face coverings when out in public and strongly recommends everyone stay home as much as possible.

“Please celebrate Thanksgiving only with the people you live with,” Ferrer said. “And let us give thanks to all those who are protecting others, especially our healthcare workers, and the many, many businesses and individuals who have spent the last months doing their part to be safe.”

See more L.A. County updates later in this report.

California Monday Snapshot

Statewide, as of Tuesday, November 24, the California Department of Public Health confirmed a total of 1,144,049 COVID-19 cases (up 18,350), with 18,875 deaths from the disease (up 106) since the pandemic began.

There are 6,166 confirmed hospitalizations and 1,433 ICU hospitalizations in the state, continuing a sharp upward trend.

California’s 7-day positivity rate is 6.5% and the 14-day positivity rate is 5.9%, continuing a sharp upward trend.

As case numbers continue to rise statewide, the number of patients who will have serious outcomes will also increase.

As of November 24, local health departments have reported 50,757 confirmed positive cases in healthcare workers and 215 deaths statewide.

There have been 22,910,351 tests COVID-19 tests conducted in California, an increase of 168,988 over the prior 24-hour reporting period.

Numbers do not represent true day-over-day change as these results include cases from prior to yesterday.

See more California info later in this report.

Screencap from the Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering COVID-19 dashboard, showing COVID cases in the United States as of Wednesday afternoon, November 25, 2020.

COVID Worldwide: 60.1 Million People Infected; U.S. Tops 261,000 Dead

Worldwide, 261,874 people have been infected by COVID-19 while 1,417,906 people have died of the virus as of 3:26 p.m. Wednesday Pacific Time, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

More than 12,742,743 Americans have been diagnosed with COVID-19. The number of people in the U.S. who have died due to the virus has surpassed 261,874.

With 4.25% of the world’s population (328.2 million) and more than 20% of the confirmed COVID-19 cases, the U.S. also continues to lead the world in deaths.

By comparison, Brazil (population 209.5 million) is No. 2 in deaths with 170,115, and No. 3 in cases with 6,118,708. India (population 1.353 billion) is No. 2 in cases, with 9,222,216 confirmed cases and 134,699 deaths as of Wednesday afternoon.

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital Wednesday Update
Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital reported its 37th death due to COVID-19 on Wednesday, November 25, following the hospital’s 36th death Tuesday, according to Henry Mayo spokesman Patrick Moody.

As of November 25, of the 12,701 people tested at Henry Mayo to date, 1,305 tested positive, 14,694 were negative, 5 were pending, 42 patients were hospitalized in a dedicated unit receiving ICU-level care (22 more than last Wednesday), a total of 376 COVID-19 patients have been treated and discharged so far, Moody said.

The hospital releases complete statistics weekly, generally on Wednesdays, unless a new death occurs, he said.

Discrepancies in the testing numbers at the hospital are due to some patients being tested multiple times.

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 is generally 48 hours behind.

Santa Clarita Valley Wednesday Update

As of 8 p.m. Monday, November 23, the latest update to its COVID-19 data dashboard, L.A. County Public Health reported a total of 81 deaths in the Santa Clarita Valley since the pandemic began. The two deaths reported Tuesday and Wednesday by Henry Mayo had not yet been recorded by the county data dashboard.

Of those 83 SCV residents who have died, 65 lived in Santa Clarita, 6 in Castaic, 3 in Acton, 3 in Stevenson Ranch, 1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon, 1 in Canyon Country, 1 in Val Verde, and 1 in unincorporated Valencia, and 2 in communities not yet identified.

Of the 9,230 confirmed COVID-19 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 5,872

Castaic: 2,365 (includes Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility*)

Stevenson Ranch: 284

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 217

Val Verde: 119

Acton: 106

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 63

Agua Dulce: 59

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 47

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 33

Bouquet Canyon: 16

Saugus/Canyon Country: 14

Elizabeth Lake: 15

Lake Hughes: 10

Sand Canyon: 7

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 3

*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.

L.A. County Outdoor Dining Ban in Effect Wednesday Night

Effective Wednesday, November 25 at 10 p.m., restaurants, breweries, wineries and bars will only be able to offer take-out, drive-thru, and delivery services.

Wineries and breweries may continue their retail operations adhering to current protocols.

In-person dining will not be allowed, at minimum, for the next three weeks.

Once L.A. County reaches a five-day average case rate of more than 4,500 new cases, the county will adopt additional safety measures to reduce transmission of the virus.

“It is a tragedy that we have come to this point. I am keenly aware that suspending outdoor dining will have a detrimental impact on our small businesses,” said County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis.

“But I’ve said time and time again that I will listen to our public health experts – and their recommendation is clear,” she said. “None of us want to see this closure, but it is necessary to protect our collective well-being. … We cannot succumb to the false dichotomy between the health of our economy and that of the public. They are intrinsically linked and addressing the surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations is necessary to halt any long-term economic damage that can result from overwhelmed hospitals, sick employees, and safety net programs stretched thin.

“Our healthcare workers are exhausted, our essential workers are severely impacted, and while our residents are as well, this is a critical juncture requiring decisive action and a steadfast commitment to safety,” Solis said. “I know our residents will once again slow the spread of COVID-19 and its destructive economic consequences. We have come so far -– and I am calling on all of us to continue that work. It will save lives.”

More L.A. County Demographics: Age

Of the 49 new deaths reported Wednesday, 18 people that passed away were over the age of 80 years old, 16 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, eight people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, two people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49 years old, and one person who died was between the ages of 18 and 29 years old.

Forty-three people who died had underlying health conditions including 18 people over the age of 80 years old, 16 people between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, seven people between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, one person between the ages of 30 and 49 years old, and one person between the ages of 18 and 29. Four deaths were reported by the City of Long Beach.

Ninety-three percent of the people who have died from COVID-19 to date had underlying health conditions. Hypertension, high cholesterol, obesity, and diabetes are the most common underlying health conditions among people hospitalized with COVID-19. Many people have multiple underlying health conditions.

Cases by Age Group (Los Angeles County only — excluding Long Beach and Pasadena)
Young people are driving the surge of the virus’s spread with disastrous results for our elderly.

In the last month, the case rate for residents age 18 to 29 years old has more than doubled, from 11.5 cases per 100,000 people to 25 cases per 100,000 people.

The second-highest group, residents ages 30 through 49 years old, has nearly doubled from 9.4 cases to 18 cases per 100,000 people.

* 0 to 4 6594

* 5 to 11 14333

* 12 to 17 17608

* 18 to 29 89690

* 30 to 49 122638

* 50 to 64 68189

* 65 to 79 26638

* over 80 11328

* Under Investigation 2329

More L.A. County Demographics: Race/Ethnicity

Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 7,118 people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health); 52% of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 24% among White residents, 14% among Asian residents, 9% among African American/Black residents, less than 1% among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander residents and 1% among residents identifying with other races.

Additionally, Pacific Islanders, Latino/Latinx residents and African American/Black residents consistently have the highest rate of hospitalizations across age groups.

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

The testing turnaround dashboard reports how long California patients are waiting for COVID-19 test results. California has worked to reduce testing turnaround times in recent weeks to help curb the spread of the virus.

During the week of November 8 to November 14, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.3 days. The testing turnaround time dashboard (PDF) is updated weekly.

All four tiers in the Testing Prioritization Guidance originally dated July 14, 2020, will have equal priority for testing.

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 November 23, 136 cases of MIS-C have been reported statewide, seven more than 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, 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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