The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Wednesday 28 new deaths and 3,498 new cases of COVID-19 countywide, with 31,302 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

Of the 28 new deaths reported today, six people who passed away were over the age of 80, 12 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, four people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, and five people died were between the ages of 30 and 49. One death was reported by the City of Long Beach.  In the past month, the County averaged around six daily deaths.

To date, Public Health identified 1,335,332 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 24,833 deaths.

As COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to increase, Public Health highlights data showing that vaccinated people remain exceptionally well protected from severe COVID-19 illness.

There are 1,573 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized; an increase of 331 people in one week. Last Wednesday, there were 1,242 people hospitalized with COVID-19 illness.

Among the more than 5.1 million fully vaccinated people in L.A. County, Public Health identified less than 1% or 15,628 people fully vaccinated who tested positive for COVID-19 as of Aug. 3. Of those who tested positive, 446 were hospitalized. This translates to 0.009% of all fully vaccinated people ending up hospitalized. Deaths in this group are also very low at 0.0008%, representing 41 people fully vaccinated that tragically passed away. This compelling evidence shows that fully vaccinated people remain at low risk for becoming infected and even lower risk for having a bad outcome if they are infected.

Testing results are available for nearly 7,560,000 individuals with 16% of people testing positive. Today’s test positivity rate is 4.6%.

Cases Increase At Skilled Nursing Facilities

Throughout the pandemic, medically fragile residents at skilled nursing facilities have been at great risk for serious illness and death from COVID-19. With the high level of COVID-19 spread across L.A. County communities and the nation, cases among staff and residents at skilled nursing facilities have slightly increased. This is in part due to the highly transmissible Delta variant, small numbers of unvaccinated staff and residents and a slight increase in the number of post vaccination infections among those fully vaccinated.

For the week ending August 1, 91 people tested positive for COVID-19: 28 new cases among residents, and 63 new cases among staff.  In comparison, the week ending July 25, there were 69 new cases among staff and residents at skilled nursing facilities, and for the previous weeks, an average of 20 new cases were reported. Currently, 86% of residents and staff at skilled nursing facilities are fully vaccinated.

Because unvaccinated healthcare workers, including workers at skilled nursing facilities, are at higher risk for being infected when community transmission is high and the close contact healthcare workers have with very vulnerable patients, Los Angeles County will issue a Health Officer Order that aligns with the State to mandate vaccinations for healthcare workers by September 30. Currently, all unvaccinated staff at skilled nursing facilities, acute care hospitals, and intermediate care facilities are required to test twice weekly.

**More from Los Angeles County Public Health further below**

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital Wednesday Update

At the time of publishing numbers for Henry Mayo have not been released, the following is from yesterday’s reporting. 

As of Tuesday, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital had two tests pending, 37 patients hospitalized, a total of 1,342 patients treated and discharged since the pandemic began, with no additional deaths, hospital spokesman Patrick Moody confirmed.

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.

Santa Clarita Valley Wednesday Update
As of 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard remained unchanged from Monday, with a total 312 COVID-19 related deaths in the SCV since the pandemic began.

The following is the community breakdown of the 312 SCV residents who have died, according to the L.A. County dashboard:

269 in Santa Clarita

16 in Castaic (**revised initially from 18)

6 in Acton

6 in Stevenson Ranch

5 in unincorporated Canyon Country

3 in Agua Dulce

1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon

1 in Elizabeth Lake

1 in Lake Hughes

1 in Newhall

1 in unincorporated Saugus/Canyon Country

1 in Valencia

1 in Val Verde

Of the 31,302 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 22,950

Castaic: 4,016

(includes Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility*)

Stevenson Ranch: 1,391

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 968

Acton: 568

Val Verde: 367

Agua Dulce: 331

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 230

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 145

Elizabeth Lake: 89

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 69

Bouquet Canyon: 52

Saugus/Canyon Country: 46

Lake Hughes: 43

Sand Canyon: 18

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 15

Placerita Canyon: 4

*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

“To everyone who is mourning people who have passed away from COVID-19, we keep you in our thoughts and prayers,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “When transmission is at high levels in L.A. County, there are ripple effects that lead to increased cases among healthcare workers, facility residents, and visitors. By working together to ensure a high level of protection at healthcare facilities, we can continue doing our part to keep people who are medically fragile safe: this now means getting vaccinated or tested before visiting anyone at these facilities, or before visiting anyone who is medically fragile in their home. Wearing a well-fitting face mask is another important action visitors must take to protect these most vulnerable individuals.”

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health encourages anyone planning to visit someone in a healthcare facility to do so safely. As a reminder, guests must wear a mask for all visitations, and visits should occur outdoors whenever possible. Additional restrictions may apply, so visitors should consult with the facility in advance for further instructions.

If you are eligible for COVID-19 vaccine but have not yet been vaccinated, consider getting vaccinated now. L.A. County continues to offer vaccines at many different sites across the county to make it as easy as possible for eligible L.A. County residents to get vaccinated. Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status.

To find a vaccination site near you, to make an appointment at vaccination sites, and much more, Visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish) If you don’t have internet access, can’t use a computer, or you’re over 65, you can call 1-833-540-0473 for help finding an appointment or scheduling a home-visit if you are homebound. Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status.

County Reopening Protocols, COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard, COVID-19 Surveillance Interactive Dashboard, Roadmap to Recovery, Recovery Dashboard, and additional actions you can take to protect yourself, your family and your community are on the Public Health website, www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

California Wednesday

California Department of Public Health confirmed Wednesday 3,969,722 cases and 64,976 deaths to date. There are 6,554 confirmed hospitalizations and 1,430 ICU hospitalizations in the state.

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

There were 9,925 newly reported confirmed cases Tuesday.

Cases are increasing statewide, largely among unvaccinated populations.

– For the week of August 7, the average case rate among unvaccinated Californians is 51 per 100,000 per day and the average case rate among vaccinated Californians is significantly lower at 8.2 per 100,000 per day.

– The vast majority of new cases are among the unvaccinated with 600% higher case rates among the unvaccinated than for those who are vaccinated.

The 7-day positivity rate is 6.4%

There have been 76,044,392 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 183,877 during the prior 24-hour reporting period.

As of August 11, according to the CDC, 77.5% of eligible Californians have received one dose. Providers have reported to CDPH that a total of 44,854,015 vaccine doses have been administered statewide. Numbers do not represent true day-to-day change as reporting may be delayed. For more vaccination data, visit the COVID-19 Vaccine Data Dashboard.

Health Care Workers

As of Aug 10, local health departments have reported 118,091 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 483 deaths statewide.

Stop the Spread: Get Vaccinated for COVID-19

The risk for COVID-19 exposure and infection continues as a number of Californians remain unvaccinated. With the emergence of the more transmissible Delta variant, there is a renewed urgency to get all eligible Californians vaccinated as quickly as possible and complete their two-dose vaccination process if they are receiving Pfizer or Moderna.

CDPH is reminding unvaccinated Californians that the COVID-19 vaccine is safe, free and provides excellent protection from severe COVID-19 illness, including the Delta variant, hospitalization, and death.

Individuals aged 12+ are eligible for vaccination. Visit myturn.ca.gov to make an appointment. Individuals aged 17 and younger may need the consent of a parent or legal guardian for vaccination. Visit Vaccinate All 58 to learn more about the safe and effective vaccines available.

Testing Turnaround Time

The testing turnaround time dashboard reports how long California patients are waiting for COVID-19 test results. During the week of July 25 to July 31, the average time patients waited for test results was one day. During this same time period, 80% of patients received test results in one day and 95% received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

As of Aug. 9 there have been 589 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.