The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Wednesday 16 new deaths and 255 new cases of COVID-19, with 27,860 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

To date, Public Health identified 1,237,681 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 24,106 deaths.

Of the 16 new deaths reported Tuesday, six people that passed away were over the age of 80, five people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, and four people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, and one person who died was between the ages of 18 and 29.

There are 352 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 22% of these people are in the ICU. Testing results are available for more than 6,662,000 individuals with 17% of people testing positive.

The State released updated blueprint tier numbers Tuesday; L.A. County’s has not adjusted the case rate Wednesday mainting 1.2 new cases per 100,000. The overall test positivity rate dropped from 0.6% to 0.5% across the county and in areas with the fewest health affirming resources.

With declining case and test positivity rates, Los Angeles County remains in the least restrictive yellow tier in the State’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy.

Public Health is also connecting businesses and workplaces needing vaccinations to County mobile units and vaccination partners throughout the community.

Employers are encouraged to fill out the COVID-19 Mobile Vaccine Team Interest Form to express interest in having a mobile vaccine unit come out to your business or workplace to provide vaccines to groups of employees. The form can be found on www.VaccinateLACounty.com.

California Wednesday Snapshot
The California Department of Public Health confirmed Wednesday 3,667,550 confirmed cases and 61,555 deaths to date. There are 1,387 confirmed hospitalizations and 342 ICU hospitalizations in the state.

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

There were 959 newly recorded confirmed cases Monday.

The 7-day positivity rate is 0.9%.

There have been 63,569,249 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 91,321 during the prior 24-hour reporting period.

As of May 19, providers have reported administering a total of 35,091,346 vaccine doses statewide. The CDC reports that 44,223,720 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 17, local health departments have reported 110,335 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 457 deaths statewide.

Santa Clarita Valley Wednesday Update
As of 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard revised the total number of SCV deaths from 304 down to 303.

The following is the community breakdown of the 303 SCV residents who have died, according to the L.A. County dashboard:

259 in Santa Clarita (***revised from 260)

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 27,860 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 20,404

Castaic: 3,734

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

Stevenson Ranch: 1,155

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 846

Acton: 476

Val Verde: 337

Agua Dulce: 282

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 194

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
As of Wednesday, the hospital had one case pending, three patients were hospitalized in a dedicated COVID-19 unit, and a total of 1,231 patients had been treated and discharged since the pandemic began, hospital spokesman Patrick Moody said.

There were no additional deaths, keeping the total deaths at 147 people to date. The most recent death was March 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

“We send our deepest condolences to the many people across our County mourning a family member or friend who has passed away due to COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Almost everyone getting infected, being hospitalized or dying from COVID-19 these past few weeks, is not fully vaccinated. If you are already vaccinated, please do your part to help those around you that are not yet vaccinated, feel confident that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and work. Every vaccinated person can be an influencer – and by sharing your story, you can make a difference and even save a life.”

Young people can transmit COVID-19 just as easily as older people when people are unvaccinated and not masking or keeping their distance. When teens are vaccinated, it helps the entire community because their immunity prevents transmission of COVID-19 to others. While the risk of severe illness from COVID-19 is lower for teens than adults, unvaccinated teens can increase the spread of infection, while those vaccinated help contain the virus.

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. Many sites require that children be accompanied by a parent or guardian or that the child is accompanied by a responsible adult and has a signed consent form. Teens are also required to bring proof of their age at sites where they are not known to the provider.

Public Health is focusing efforts on the 43 school districts located in the hardest hit communities in the county, including LAUSD. The first part of the strategy involves organizing school site pop-up clinics. There are 60 school sites where pop-up clinics are providing vaccines to people in their surrounding communities. LAUSD is hoping to send mobile teams to over 200 school sites starting next week. The second part of this strategy involves onboarding existing school-based clinics as COVID-19 vaccine providers. Eighty-two percent of 62 existing school-based clinics are in low-resource zip codes. About half are on high school campuses and 11% are on middle school campuses. Eighteen of these school-based clinics are currently administering COVID-19 vaccines, and the capacity at these clinics ranges from 100 to 500 shots per day. Additionally, at least 12 school districts have a licensed school nurse who has expressed interest in providing the vaccine. Public Health is actively engaging these school districts and onboarding them to provide Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to students as well as to the communities.

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

Blueprint Tier Assignments
The CDPH released the most recent statistics on COVID-19, including updated data and tiers for reducing COVID-19 in the state under the Blueprint for a Safer Economy.

Five counties are moving to a less restrictive tier, although local public health departments may implement policies that are more restrictive than the state. From Red (substantial) to Orange (moderate): Tehama. From Orange (moderate) to Yellow (minimal): Amador, Orange, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz. No counties moved to a more restrictive tier. No counties remain in the Purple (widespread) tier, 10 remain in the Red (substantial) tier, 35 in the Orange (moderate) tier and 13 are in the Yellow (minimal) tier.

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 17

0 counties in the Purple (widespread) Tier

10 counties in the Red (substantial) Tier

35 counties in Orange (moderate) Tier

13 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 2 to May 8, the average time patients waited for test results was just under one day. During this same time period, 84% of patients received test results in one day and 96% received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

As of May 17, there have been 520 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.