The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed on Wednesday that L.A. County has reached the highest number of daily deaths since July 29 with 75 new deaths and 9,243 new cases countywide, as Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital reported two new fatalities.

The SCV has now tallied 11,320 confirmed COVID-19 cases among residents — 219 more new cases than Tuesday — and 84 deaths since the pandemic began, according to Public Health data. That does not include the three deaths reported on Monday and two new deaths reported Wednesday by Henry Mayo.

Countywide, of the 3,299 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized, 23% of them are in the ICU.

The surge in cases, which began around Nov. 2, led to an increase in hospitalizations starting around Nov. 9 and then, tragically, the start of an increase in deaths beginning around Nov. 15.

Since Nov. 9, average daily deaths have increased 258%, from 12 average deaths per day to 43 this week. Since these deaths reflect L.A. County case counts from a month ago, as cases have continued to increase the past few weeks, we will bear witness to a significant rise in the number of people who are dying.

To date, Public Health has counted 8,075 confirmed COVID-19 deaths and 475,271 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Upon further investigation, 293 cases reported earlier were not county residents.

L.A. County continues to experience more new cases reported each day for COVID-19 than at any point during the pandemic. This past week and a half, cases increased from an average of about 4,900 new cases each day the last week in November, to an average of more than 9,000 daily cases.

“For everyone who is now facing a future without a loved one or friend who has passed away from COVID-19, we send you our deepest sympathies and we wish you healing and peace,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health.

“This is a most dangerous time for L.A. County, and I ask everyone to please be extremely careful and diligent in protecting yourself and other people,” Ferrer said. “When there are tens of thousands of infected people out and about each day, there is a significant increase in the probability that among the many encounters each individual has during the day, one or more of these will be with a person infected with the virus.

“The safest thing you can do during this very difficult time in the pandemic is to stay home as much as possible and to interact only with members of your household,” she said. “When we must leave our homes, we always wear face coverings at all times when we are with people we don’t live with and we need to keep distance of at least 6 feet from other people as much as possible. Please use every tool we have to be as safe as possible.”

California Wednesday Snapshot

Statewide, as of Tuesday, December 8, the California Department of Public Health confirmed a total of 1,420,558 COVID-19 cases (up 30,851), with 20,243 deaths from the disease (up 196) since the pandemic began.

There are 11,012 confirmed hospitalizations and 2,506 ICU hospitalizations in the state, continuing a very sharp upward trend.

California’s 7-day positivity rate is 10.0% and the 14-day positivity rate is 8.8%, continuing a very sharp upward trend.

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

As of December 8, local health departments have reported 57,075 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 221 deaths statewide.

There have been 26,042,071 COVID-19 tests conducted in California, an increase of 252,296 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, December 9, 2020.

COVID Worldwide: Almost 70 Million Infections; U.S. Deaths Fast Approaching 300K

Worldwide, 68,692,977 people have been infected by COVID-19 while 1,565,101 people have died of the virus as of 1:26 p.m. Wednesday Pacific Time, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

In the U.S., more than 15,329,168 Americans have been diagnosed with COVID-19. New cases and hospitalizations continue at all-time record highs. The number of people in the U.S. who have died due to the virus has now surpassed 288,185.

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 178,159, and No. 3 in cases with 6,674,999. India (population 1.353 billion) is No. 2 in cases, with 9,735,850 confirmed cases and 141,360 deaths as of Wednesday afternoon.

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital Wednesday Update

With two new deaths reported Wednesday following three new deaths reported Monday, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital’s death total is up to 45, according to spokesman Patrick Moody.

As of Wednesday, December 9, of the 13,307 people tested at Henry Mayo to date, 1,633 tested positive, 16,046 were negative, 43 were pending, 75 patients were hospitalized in a dedicated unit receiving ICU-level care and a total of 451 COVID-19 patients have been treated and discharged so far, Moody 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.

Henry Mayo releases complete statistics weekly, generally on Wednesdays, unless a new death occurs, Moody said.

Santa Clarita Valley Wednesday Update

As of 8 p.m. Monday, December 7, the latest update to the L.A. County Public Health COVID-19 data dashboard, 84 deaths had been reported among Santa Clarita Valley residents since the pandemic began.

The data dashboard did not yet list Henry Mayo’s three deaths from Monday and two deaths from Wednesday.

Of the 89 SCV residents who have died, 69 lived in Santa Clarita, 5 in Castaic, 3 in Acton, 3 in Stevenson Ranch, 1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon, 2 in unincorporated Canyon Country, 1 in Val Verde, and 5 in communities not yet named.

Of the 11,320 confirmed COVID-19 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 7,496

Castaic: 2,529 (includes Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility*)

Stevenson Ranch: 375

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 315

Val Verde: 131

Acton: 152

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 72

Agua Dulce: 71

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 55

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 40

Elizabeth Lake: 22

Saugus/Canyon Country: 18

Bouquet Canyon: 16

Lake Hughes: 17

Sand Canyon: 7

San Francisquito/Bouquet 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 Aligns with State Regional Stay Home Order

As COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations surge and ICU capacity declines in Los Angeles County and across the Southern California Region, the Los Angeles County Health Officer Order has been modified to align with the State Regional Stay Home Order to prevent crowding and mingling among non-household members and overwhelming our healthcare system.

Read more here.

A list of non-compliant businesses that received citations can be found online at www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

More L.A. County Demographics: Age

Of the 75 new deaths reported Wednesday, 17 people who died were over the age of 80 years old, 28 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, 17 people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, and seven people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49 years old.

Fifty-three people who died had underlying health conditions including 14 people over the age of 80 years old, 17 people between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, 16 people between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, and six people between the ages of 30 and 49 years.

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 8445

* 5 to 11 18941

* 12 to 17 23331

* 18 to 29 112704

* 30 to 49 154211

* 50 to 64 84898

* 65 to 79 32912

* over 80 13346

* Under Investigation 2968

Certain Communities Affected More Than Others

As L.A. County has experienced significant increases in cases over the last few weeks, certain communities continue to experience the burden of transmission of the virus more than others. San Gabriel Valley and South Los Angeles County have the majority of communities that have experienced the highest rate increases.

The communities in L.A. County that are seeing the largest increases in cases during this surge are the City of Rosemead, Century Palms/Cove area and Lennox area and all experienced case rate increases of over 400%.

Our community health workers focus their efforts in these communities as well as communities that have had high case rates throughout the pandemic. They provide information about how COVID-19 can spread and connect residents to essential resources.

If you live or work in these communities, please know that many more people around you may now be infected. With much higher rates of virus transmission, it is critically important to stay at home as much as possible and if going out, please always keep distance of at least 6 feet and wear a face-covering whenever you are around people not from your household.

In order to protect our essential workers, everyone should follow all the safety directives when visiting stores and businesses or utilizing essential services.

As the pandemic continues, many people are experiencing a great deal of stress and difficulty. If you are feeling overwhelmed, please know that help is available. The Department of Mental Health’s Help Line operates 24 hours a day 7 days a week. They can provide you with referrals for mental health and wellness services. Also, from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. daily, you can access the Emotional Support Warm Line with Trained Active Listeners to talk to. The phone number to access all these services is (800) 854-7771.

More L.A. County Demographics: Race/Ethnicity

Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 7,627 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.

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 Regional Stay Home Order

The Regional Stay Home Order announced December 3 and a supplemental order signed December 6 will go into effect at 11:59 p.m. the day after a region has been announced to have less than 15% ICU availability.

The supplemental order clarifies retail operations and goes into effect immediately. They prohibit private gatherings of any size, close sector operations except for critical infrastructure and retail, and require 100% masking and physical distancing in all others.

Once triggered, these orders will remain in effect for at least 3 weeks. After that period, they will be lifted when a region’s projected ICU capacity meets or exceeds 15%. This will be assessed on a weekly basis after the initial three-week period.

Based on ICU data, two regions, San Joaquin Valley and Southern California, at 6.3% and 10.9%, respectively, are under the Regional Stay Home Order as of Monday, December 7. These regions will be eligible to exit from the order and return to the Blueprint for a Safer Economy on December 28 if ICU capacity projections for the following month are above or equal to 15%.

Learn more about these orders.

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 22 to November 28, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.7 days. During this same time period, 51 percent of patients received test results in 1 day and 78 percent received them within 2 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 December 7, 145 cases of MIS-C have been reported statewide, two 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

California is experiencing the fastest increase in cases we have seen yet – faster than what we experienced at the outset of the pandemic and this summer. If COVID-19 continues to spread at this rate, it could quickly overwhelm our health care system and lead to catastrophic outcomes.

Protect yourself, family, friends, and community by following these prevention measures:

* 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.

* Following the limited Stay at Home Order that requires all non-essential work and activities to stop between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. in counties in the purple tier. The order took effect at 10 p.m. Saturday, November 21, and will remain in effect until 5 a.m. December 21.

* Staying close to home, avoiding non-essential travel, and practicing self-quarantine for 14 days after arrival if you leave the state.

* Keeping gatherings small, short, and outdoors and limiting them to those who live in your household.

* 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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