The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health on Wednesday confirmed 20 new deaths and 1,351 new positive cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, with 18 new cases reported in the Santa Clarita Valley.

The SCV has tallied 7,203 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 73 deaths from the virus since the World Health Organization declared the pandemic on March 11.

L.A. County has counted 7,040 confirmed COVID-19 deaths and 303,369 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of the county to date. Upon further investigation, 59 cases and seven deaths reported earlier were not county residents.

“Our deepest sympathies are with everyone who has lost a friend or loved one to COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health.

Deaths Down, New Cases Up, Hospitalizations Stablilize

There has been a steady decrease in average daily COVID-19 deaths in L.A. County. During the late-July peak, the average daily deaths were 44 compared to last week’s daily average at 13 deaths per day. This continued decrease in deaths is promising.

At the same time, an increase in cases can result in increased hospitalizations and deaths several weeks later.

Public Health is seeing a gradual increase in new daily cases from an average of about 940 new cases per day at the beginning of the month to an average of almost 1,200 new cases per day as of last week.

This gradual increase coincides with the reopening of several sectors, as well as increased gatherings associated with watching sports competitions, including celebrating the Lakers and Dodgers victories.

At many of these gatherings, people were together without distancing or wearing face coverings, often inside, and unfortunately, at times they were transmitting COVID-19 to other people.

The county’s daily case numbers continue to keep us in the most restrictive purple tier (Tier 1) in California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy. Currently, L.A. County’s adjusted case rate is 8.0 new cases per 100,000 people, an increase from the 7.6 adjusted case rate reported last week.

In order to move to the next less restrictive tier, L.A. County must reduce its daily number of new cases to seven or fewer new cases per 100,000 people for two consecutive weeks.

There are 755 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 countywide, and 28% of them are in the ICU.

The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations has stabilized. The number has remained below 1,000 daily hospitalized patients for most of September and October, and L.A. County continues to average under 800 hospitalized patients per day.

This continued stability in hospitalization numbers while the numbers of daily cases increase is likely due to a combination of three factors.

First, younger people are primarily driving the increasing numbers of new cases and this is a group that may be less likely to become seriously ill and require hospitalization from COVID-19.

Second, for those who do require hospitalization, the ability of health care providers to offer better therapeutic treatments often leads to shortened length of stays.

Third, there is often a lag between the time we start to see increases in cases and subsequent increases in hospitalizations.

Positivity Rate Increases

Test results are available for more than 3,061,000 county residents, with 9% of all people testing positive. Since mid-September, L.A. County’s positivity rate has been fairly stable, at a little over 3%. Public Health officials are starting to see a slight increase. The county’s current average daily positivity rate is around 3.4%, compared to 3.1% a month ago.

The county’s overall test positivity rate is 3.7% which meets the threshold for Tier 3 and the test positivity rate in the lowest-resourced areas is 6.2% which meets the threshold for Tier 2.

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

California Wednesday Snapshot

Statewide, as of Tuesday, October 27, the California Department of Public Health confirmed a total of 908,713 COVID-19 cases (up 4,515), with 17,475 deaths from the disease (up 75).

There are 2,342 confirmed hospitalizations and 663 ICU hospitalizations in the state, a slight upward trend.

California’s 7-day positivity rate is 3.3% and the 14-day positivity rate is 3.0%, continuing an upward trend.

As of October 25, local health departments have reported 43,870 confirmed positive cases in healthcare workers and 203 deaths statewide.

There have been 18,223,596 COVID-19 tests conducted in California, an increase of 96,547 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.

COVID Worldwide: More than 1.1 Million Dead; Third Wave Builds in U.S.

Worldwide, 44,304,816 people have been infected by COVID-19 while 1,171,119 people have died as of 12:25 Wednesday afternoon Pacific Time, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

A graph of new COVID-19 cases confirmed in the United States as of Wednesday, October 28. | Graph: Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

Since the pandemic began, more than 8,833,396 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 227,320.

The U.S., with 4.25% of the world’s population and more than 20% of the confirmed cases, also continues to lead the world in deaths.

By comparison, No. 2 Brazil’s death toll is 157,946 and slowing. India, at No. 2 in cases, had confirmed 7,990,322 cases and 120,010 deaths as of Wednesday afternoon.

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital Wednesday Update
Henry Mayo releases statistics weekly, generally on Wednesdays, unless there is a drastic change in the number of cases or a COVID-related death has been confirmed, spokesman Patrick Moody said.

As of Wednesday, October 28, of the 10,109 people tested at Henry Mayo to date, 1,027 tested positive, 12,066 were negative, 14 were pending, 15 patients were hospitalized in a dedicated unit receiving ICU-level care (up three from the previous Wednesday), and a total of 299 COVID-19 patients have been treated and discharged so far.

The number of people who have died of COVID-19 at Mayo Mayo stood at 30, Moody said. Privacy laws prohibit the hospital from releasing the community of residence for patients who die; that info is reported by L.A. County Public Health.

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

Santa Clarita Valley Wednesday Update

As of 8 p.m. Monday, October 26, the latest update to its COVID-19 data dashboard, L.A. County Public Health reported 73 deaths in the Santa Clarita Valley since the pandemic began.

Of the 73 SCV residents who have died to date, 61 lived in the city of Santa Clarita (adjusted from 60 previously reported), 4 in Castaic (adjusted from 5 previously reported), 2 in Acton, 3 in Stevenson Ranch, 1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon, 1 in Val Verde, and 1 in unincorporated Valencia.

Of the 7,203 confirmed COVID-19 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 4,283

Castaic: 2,171 (includes Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility*)

Stevenson Ranch: 196

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 174

Val Verde: 103

Acton: 85

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 52

Agua Dulce: 33

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 38

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 26

Saugus/Canyon Country: 11

Bouquet Canyon: 10

Elizabeth Lake: 8

Sand Canyon: 7

Lake Hughes: 5

*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.

“We are seeing an increase in daily cases coinciding with the reopening of several sectors & gatherings associated with watching sports and celebrating the Lakers & Dodgers victories,” L.A. County Public Health officials tweeted Wednesday afternoon.

“At these gatherings, people were without distancing or face coverings, transmitting #COVID19.

“This increase is cause for concern. In order to keep moving down our road to recovery, we need to reduce our community transmission, and we need our residents to do their part. Wear the face covering, stay 6ft away, don’t gather.”

“People who have been part of celebratory crowds where they were in close contact with others not wearing face coverings and not distancing may have been exposed to #COVID19 and they should take the following precautions over the next 14 days:

* Remain apart from others

* Get tested, and monitor yourself for symptoms of illness

* If you know you were in contact with a person who tested positive for COVID-19, quarantine for the full 14 days, even if you have a negative test.”

“The decisions that we make individually or as families can have tragic consequences for us and for others who we might not even know,” Ferrer said Wednesday. “Doing what we know is right – wearing face coverings regularly, avoiding gatherings, and keeping our distance from those outside our household – is critical to preventing large outbreaks in L.A. County.

“Many people, especially our younger residents, are interacting with each other while not adhering to recommended prevention measures, while our older residents continue to experience the results of increased spread with the worst health outcomes, including death,” she said.

“We have learned a lot about how this infection is transmitted since the beginning of the pandemic and it’s useful to reflect on what we know so that we can better understand the risks associated with certain activities,” Ferrer said.

“Activities that have been linked to a high number of COVID-19 cases include parties, wedding celebrations, in-person dining at bars and restaurants, and on and off-campus socializing at universities,” she said.

More L.A. County Demographics: Age

Of the 20 new deaths reported today, eight people who passed away were over the age of 80 years old, five people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, five people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, and two people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49 years old.

Eighteen people who died had underlying health conditions including seven people over the age of 80, five people between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, five people between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, and one person between the ages of 30 and 49 years old.

Ninety-three percent of the people who died from COVID-19 had underlying health conditions.

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

* 0 to 4 5024

* 5 to 11 10824

* 12 to 17 13362

* 18 to 29 71207

* 30 to 49 98380

* 50 to 64 55288

* 65 to 79 21652

* over 80 9814

* Under Investigation 1784

More L.A. County Demographics: Race/Ethnicity

Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 6,633people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health); 52% of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 23% among White residents, 14% 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.

School Waiver Applications Update

Public Health continues to receive school waiver applications for grades TK-2. A total of 153 applications have been received from schools for waivers to open for grades TK-2 in-person learning; 102 applications from private schools, 46 applications from public schools, and five applications from charter schools. Waiver approvals have been issued to 29 schools to date, and as a reminder, once an application is completed, it takes 2 to 3 weeks to confer with the State and process applications.

For more information, visit publichealth.lacounty.gov.

Schools are currently permitted to open for in-person learning and necessary assessments for high-need students while adhering to the school re-opening protocols. The percentage of high-needs students permitted at a school campus for on-site learning increased from 10% to 25%. To date, 1,017 schools have opted to offer in-person learning for high-need students; 68% are public schools, 18% are charter schools, and 14% are private schools. Nearly 35,000 students and more than 20,000 staff have returned for on-site learning. A list of schools open for K-12 specialized services can be found online.

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 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 October 11 to October 17, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.2 days. During this same time period, 69 percent of patients received test results in 1 day and 91 percent received them within two days. The testing turnaround time dashboard (PDF) is updated weekly.

As of September 23, California’s testing capacity and turnaround time have improved. As a result and until further notice, 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 October 26, 119 cases of MIS-C have been reported statewide, four 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.

* * * * *

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.

* * * * *