The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Wednesday 11 new deaths and 205 new cases of COVID-19, with 27,901 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

Of the 11 new deaths reported Wednesday, four people that passed away were over the age of 80, four people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, and one person who died was between the ages of 30 and 49. Two deaths were reported by the city of Long Beach.

To date, Public Health identified 1,239,280 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 24,194 deaths.

The State released updated blueprint tier numbers Tuesday; L.A. County’s adjusted case rate dropped from 1.2 new cases per 100,000 people to 0.9 new cases per 100,000. The overall test positivity rate dropped from 0.5% to 0.4% across the county and in areas with the fewest health affirming resources, according to LA Public health

Los Angeles County remains in the least restrictive yellow tier in the State’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy framework.

There are 325 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 22% of these people are in the ICU. Testing results are available for nearly 6,712,000 individuals with 17% of people testing positive. Wednesday’s daily test positivity rate is 0.4%.

On June 15, almost all sectors and businesses will be able to return to usual operations with some limited exceptions. In most settings, capacity limits and distancing requirements will be lifted. There will be requirements and recommendations for mega-events and the County will rescind its travel advisory and align with the State and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance on travel.

California Wednesday Snapshot
The California Department of Public Health confirmed Wednesday 3,675,817 confirmed cases and 61,824 deaths to date. There are 1,210 confirmed hospitalizations and 287 ICU hospitalizations in the state.

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

There were 1,155 newly recorded confirmed cases Wednesday.

The 7-day positivity rate is 0.8%.

There have been 64,818,153 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 108,670 during the prior 24-hour reporting period.

As of May 26, providers have reported administering a total of 36,675,042 vaccine doses statewide. The CDC reports that 45,400,780 doses have been delivered to entities within the state. 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 May 25, local health departments have reported 110,890 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 461 deaths statewide.

According to LA Public Health, healthcare workers were the first group in L.A. County to receive COVID-19 vaccinations in December 2020, and since then, COVID-19 cases among healthcare workers plummeted. During the peak, the last week of December, there were nearly 2,000 new cases of COVID-19 among healthcare workers. Last week, there were only 24 new cases among healthcare workers reported across the entire county. Since March, the County has seen less than 50 new cases a week among healthcare workers.

To date, 265 healthcare workers have tragically passed away from COVID-19. At the peak of the surge, the week of January 3, 2021, 24 healthcare workers passed away. In the past month, one healthcare worker has passed away from COVID-19.

Throughout the pandemic nursing facility staff have accounted for one-fourth of healthcare worker cases and fortunately, cases among nursing facility staff also dropped. The week of January 3, 2021 more than 1,100 nursing facility staff tested positive for COVID-19. For the week of May 8, a total of seven nursing facility staff tested positive for COVID-19. Currently, 82% of skilled nursing facility staff are fully vaccinated.

The low cases rate among healthcare workers at nursing homes and at all healthcare facilities reflects their high vaccination rates.

Santa Clarita Valley Wednesday Update
As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard added another death in the city of Santa Clarita, recording 304 total SCV deaths from COVID-19.

The following is the community breakdown of the 304 SCV residents who have died, according to the L.A. County dashboard:

260 in Santa Clarita

18 in Castaic

6 in Acton

6 in Stevenson Ranch

4 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 27,901 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 20,425

Castaic: 3,738

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

Stevenson Ranch: 1,157

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 847

Acton: 480

Val Verde: 337

Agua Dulce: 283

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 196

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 132

Elizabeth Lake: 76

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 68

Bouquet Canyon: 47

Lake Hughes: 42

Saugus/Canyon Country: 40

Sand Canyon: 17

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 15

Placerita Canyon: 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 Newhall Hospital Wednesday Update

On Wednesday, the hospital had announced for the first time since the pandemic began Henry Mayo has zero COVID patients, a total of 1,236 patients had been treated and discharged since the pandemic began, hospital spokesman Patrick Moody said.

There were no new deaths reported Wednesday, keeping the total deaths at 148 people since the pandemic began. The last death occured on May 21.

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.

L.A. County

“To those mourning loved ones and friends who have passed away from COVID-19, I send my deepest sympathies,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “With summer and full re-openings around the corner, there will be increased risk for COVID-19 to spread among unvaccinated people. Millions of people are fully vaccinated, but millions are still not. While substantially lower than the peak, the suffering and deaths that continue to occur among unvaccinated people are, for the most part, preventable because the vaccine provides superior protection. If you are already vaccinated, please encourage your friends and family that are not yet vaccinated, to get protected with the vaccine. Increasing the number of people vaccinated is the path to community immunity.”

Cases among people who are incarcerated were very high at the beginning of the pandemic and increased during the surge. Since the peak of more than 600 weekly cases in mid-December, there has been a significant drop to seven weekly cases for the period ending May 20. There have been a total 9,656 cases associated with outbreaks in correctional facilities over the course of the pandemic.

COVID-19 vaccinations are free, available at County-run sites and many community sites without an appointment. Anyone 12 and older living or working in L.A. County can get vaccinated. For now, only the Pfizer vaccine is approved for children, so make sure to go to a site that administers the Pfizer vaccine for children and teens. Teens 12 to 17 years old need to be accompanied by a parent, guardian, or responsible adult.

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

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

Vaccine Eligibility Update

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.

Blueprint for a Safer Economy

All counties are under the rules and framework of the Blueprint for a Safer Economy and color-coded tiers that indicate which activities and businesses are open based on local case rates and test positivity. As always, local public health departments may implement policies that are more restrictive than the state.

Blueprint Summary as of May 25

0 counties in the Purple (widespread) Tier

8 counties in the Red (substantial) Tier

35 counties in Orange (moderate) Tier

15 counties in Yellow (minimal) Tier

Blueprint tiers are updated weekly on Tuesdays. Find the status of activities in specific counties.

Testing Turnaround Time

The testing turnaround time dashboard reports how long California patients are waiting for COVID-19 test results. During the week of May 9 to May 15, the average time patients waited for test results was under one day. During this same time period, 86% of patients received test results in one day and 97% received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

As of May 24, there have been 527 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.

Your Actions Save Lives
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.

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.