The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Wednesday seven new deaths and 2,551 new cases and of COVID-19, with 29,104 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

This is a 20-fold increase in a month, with 124 new COVID-19 cases reported on June 21.

Wednesday’s test positivity rate is 5.2%; the rate was 0.7% a month ago.

The number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 illness continues to increase each day. There are 585 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 23% of these people are in the ICU. On June 21, there were 213 people hospitalized with COVID-19 illness.

Of the seven new deaths reported today, two people that passed away were between the ages of 65 and 79, three people who passed were between the ages of 50 and 64, and one person who passed was between the ages of 30 and 49. One death was reported by the City of Long Beach.

To date, Public Health identified 1,273,390 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 24,594 deaths. Testing results are available for more than 7,200,000 individuals with 16% of people testing positive.

L.A. County Mask Mandate
Masking for everyone while indoors, regardless of vaccination status, is required in all indoor public places, venues, gatherings, and businesses (including offices, retail, restaurants, gyms, theaters, family entertainment centers, meetings, and state and local government offices serving the public). Standard exceptions apply for children under the age of two, for those with certain medical conditions or disabilities that prevent masking, and for those whose job doesn’t permit masking.

With COVID-19 increasing across L.A. County communities, there has been a small increase in cases among staff and residents at skilled nursing facilities. Masks have consistently been required in all healthcare settings, including long term care facilities regardless of vaccination status and 85% of staff and residents are fully vaccinated. Nonetheless, in part due to breakthrough cases among those fully vaccinated, for the week ending July 11, 25 people tested positive for COVID-19; 3 new cases among residents and 22 new cases among staff. For the previous weeks, an average of 16 new cases were reported among staff and residents at skilled nursing facilities.

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

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 of 308 (revised down from 309) COVID-19 related deaths in the SCV since the pandemic began.

The following is the community breakdown of the 308 SCV residents who have died, according to the L.A. County dashboard:

266 in Santa Clarita

16 in Castaic (**revised initially from 18)

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 29,104 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 21,318

Castaic: 3,835

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

Stevenson Ranch: 1,241

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 882

Acton: 511

Val Verde: 345

Agua Dulce: 300

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 210

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 137

Elizabeth Lake: 82

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 69

Bouquet Canyon: 50

Saugus/Canyon Country: 45

Lake Hughes: 42

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.

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital Wednesday Update
As of Wednesday, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital has increased their total death count to 151, with one additional death Tuesday and one that went unreported during the week of July 4.

An additional 0 tests pending, 10 patients hospitalized, a total of 1,278 patients treated and discharged since the pandemic began, 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.

L.A. County

“To everyone who has lost a friend or loved one to COVID-19, we send you our thoughts and prayer,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Because of the more infectious Delta variant and the intermingling of unmasked individuals where vaccination status is unknown, unfortunately, we are seeing a surge in cases in L.A. County that looks somewhat similar to last summer. An important difference this summer is that with millions of people vaccinated, we are hopeful we will avoid similar increases in deaths that were experienced last year. By adding a mask requirement for everyone indoors, the risk for transmission of the virus will be reduced, and with increases in the number of people getting vaccinated, we should be able to get back to slowing the spread. Sensible masking indoors adds a layer of protection to the powerful vaccines.  It is important that we work together to drive down transmission so that there will be much less community transmission when schools reopen.”

Anyone 12 and older living or working in L.A. County can get vaccinated against COVID-19. Vaccinations are widely available throughout L.A. County and many sites are open on weekends and have evening hours.

Through Thursday, at County-run vaccination sites, LA City sites, and St. John’s Well Child and Family Center sites, everyone 18 and older coming to get a vaccine will have an opportunity to win one of seven packages of tickets to family fun at the Staples Center, including performances by the Harlem Globetrotters, Disney on Ice, and the Gold Over America tour starring Simone Biles. Official rules and participating site locations are posted online on the Los Angeles County Vaccination Sweepstakes page. Winners will be contacted by phone and/or email.

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 3,772,470 cases and 63,664 deaths to date. There are 2,328 confirmed hospitalizations and 551 ICU hospitalizations in the state.

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

There were 5,285 newly reported confirmed cases Wednesday.

The 7-day positivity rate is 4.5%.

There have been 72,156,783 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 122,156 during the prior 24-hour reporting period.

As of July 21, providers have reported administering a total of 43,119,323 vaccine doses statewide. The CDC reports that 48,998,195 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 July 20, local health departments have reported 114,881 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 480 deaths statewide.

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.

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 4 to July 10, 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 96% received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

As of July 19, there have been 580 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.