Los Angeles County Public Health officials on Wednesday confirmed 37 new deaths and 1,930 new cases of COVID-19 countywide, with 34,936 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

Of the 37 new deaths reported today, 15 people who passed away were over the age of 80, six people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, 10 people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, and six people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49. To date, Public Health identified 1,437,073 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 25,748 deaths.

There are 1,214 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 30% of these people are in the ICU. This is a decrease of 219 daily hospitalizations over the past week. Testing results are available for nearly 8,400,000 individuals with 16% of people testing positive. Today’s test positivity rate is 1.5%.

“I extend my deepest condolences to those who are grieving the loss of a friend, neighbor, coworker, or loved one at this time. Our hearts and thoughts remain with you,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health.

Public Health Issues News Vaccine Orders

With the urgent need to reduce transmission risk and increase vaccination coverage in L.A. County, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) will begin requiring verification of vaccination in select high-risk settings by Oct 7, 2021.

Public Health will issue a modified Health Officer Order later this week that would align with President Biden and require vaccination verification or a negative test within 72 hours prior to attending outdoor mega events. Attendees at indoor mega events are already required to show proof of vaccination or a negative test result prior to entry.

Many mega event venues already established verification systems during the spring in response to previous capacity restrictions, and Public Health is prepared to offer all large venues and organizers of mega events technical assistance to assist with implementation.

Vaccine verification will also be required for customers and employees at indoor portions of bars, wineries, breweries, night clubs, and lounges. These establishments are primarily attended by adults and already require patrons to show identification. Public Health will prepare a toolkit to assist businesses in confirming vaccinations and will provide education and support to those establishments requesting assistance. While not required, vaccine verification at indoor portions of restaurants are also recommended.

The modified Health Officer Order would require customers and employees at bars, breweries, wineries, night clubs and lounges to have at least one dose of the vaccine by Oct 7 and both doses by Nov 4.

Santa Clarita Valley Tuesday Update

As of 6 p.m. Sunday, the L.A. County Public Health COVID-19 dashboard confirmed a total of 325 COVID-19 related deaths in the SCV since the pandemic began.

The following is the community breakdown of the 325 SCV residents who have died, according to the L.A. County dashboard:

275 in Santa Clarita

18 in Castaic

9 in Acton

7 in Stevenson Ranch

6 in unincorporated Canyon Country

3 in Agua Dulce

2 in Val Verde

1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon

1 in Elizabeth Lake

1 in Newhall

1 in unincorporated Saugus/Canyon Country

1 in Valencia

0 in Lake Hughes (**revised from 1)

Cases:

Of the 34,885 confirmed COVID-19 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 25,701

Castaic: 4,281 (incl. Pitchess Detention Center & North County Correctional Facility*)

Stevenson Ranch: 1,592

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 1,097

Acton: 683

Val Verde: 411

Agua Dulce: 377

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 262

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 160

Elizabeth Lake: 99

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 70

Bouquet Canyon: 62

Saugus/Canyon Country: 46

Lake Hughes: 51

Sand Canyon: 22

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 18

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.

William S. Hart Union High School District COVID-19 Dashboard

The William S. Hart Union High School District provides ongoing information to our community regarding COVID-19 cases while maintaining confidentiality for our students and staff. The COVID-19 case data below is updated regularly to indicate any currently confirmed COVID-19 positive case in staff members or students by school site. The data below is specific to individuals who have been physically present on a District campus within 14 days of receiving a positive COVID-19 test. The District, in conjunction with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, conducts contact tracing and directly notifies and provides resources for parents of students identified as close contacts (6 feet or less for 15 cumulative minutes or more).

Note: To see the communication process in the event of a positive COVID-19 case, visit https://www.hartdistrict.org/apps/pages/covid-19dashboard.

Student Dashboard:

Staff Dashboard:

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital Tuesday Update

Note: Information from Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital was not available on Wednesday, Sept. 15, by the deadline.

As of Monday, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital had zero tests pending, 32 patients in the hospital, a total of 1,475 patients who have been treated and discharged since the onset of the pandemic began, and no additional deaths, hospital spokesman Patrick Moody confirmed.

Privacy laws prohibit Henry Mayo from releasing the community of residence for patients who die at the hospital; residence info is reported by the L.A. County Public Health COVID-19 dashboard, which generally lags 48 hours behind.

California Tuesday Snapshot

California Department of Public Health confirmed Tuesday 4,380,566 cases and 67,001 deaths to date.

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

There were 7,760 newly reported confirmed cases Tuesday.

As of September 14, local health departments have reported 123,435 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 498 deaths statewide.

Cases are increasing statewide, largely among unvaccinated populations:

– For the week of August 29 – September 4, the average case rate among unvaccinated Californians age 16 or older is 71.03 per 100,000 per day and the average case rate among vaccinated Californians age 16 or older is significantly lower at 8.9 per 100,000 per day.

– The great majority of new cases are among unvaccinated individuals. The rate among the unvaccinated is 8 times the rate among the vaccinated.

The 7-day positivity rate is 3.5%.

There have been 87,498,916 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 816,603 during the prior 24-hour reporting period.

There have been 66,813 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

As of September 15, according to the CDC, 82.2% of eligible Californians have received at least one dose. Providers have reported to CDPH that a total of 48,160,068 vaccine doses have been administered statewide.

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.

See more California information later in this report.

L.A. County Vaccine Update

“With the highly transmissible Delta variant accounting for all COVID-19 strains recently sequenced in L.A. County and with a continued high level of spread over months now, it remains essential to mask up and get vaccinated if you are eligible. While both vaccinated and unvaccinated people can get infected, being unvaccinated increase your chances four fold of becoming infected, 10 fold of being hospitalized and more than 10 fold for dying. The vaccine continues doing its very important work of dramatically reducing illness and suffering from COVID among the people who are vaccinated. The struggle now is to get enough people vaccinated to break the cycle of high rates of transmission. We continue working with our partners to increase vaccinations, our most powerful tool for ending the pandemic,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health.

Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status.
Visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish) to learn how to make an appointment at vaccination sites. 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. Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status.

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.

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 Sept. 13, there have been 603 cases of MIS-C have been reported statewide (**revised from 596).

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.

Although very rare, COVID-19 cases among children can sometimes result a few weeks later in very serious illness known as Multi-symptom Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C).

Vaccine Eligibility

As of May 13, vaccination appointments for individuals aged 12+ can be made by visiting myturn.ca.gov. The consent of a parent or legal guardian may be needed for those between the ages of 12 and 17 to receive a vaccination. For more information on the vaccine effort, visit Vaccinate All 58.

Tracking COVID-19 in California

* State Dashboard – Daily COVID-19 data

* County Map – Local data

* Data and Tools – Models and dashboards for researchers, scientists, and the public

* 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

California Testing & Turnaround Time

The testing turnaround time dashboardreports how long California patients are waiting for COVID-19 test results.

During the week of Aug. 29 to Sept. 4, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.4 days.

During this same time period, 62% of patients received test results in one day and 87% received them within two days.

Protect Yourself and Your Family: Your Actions Save Lives

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

* Getting vaccinated when it’s your turn. Californians age 16+ are eligible to make an appointment.

* Avoiding non-essential travel, and practicing self-quarantine for 14 days after arrival if you leave the state.

* Keeping interactions limited to people 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.

* 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.

* Getting tested if you believe you’ve been exposed. Free, confidential testing is available statewide.

* Adding your phone to the fight by signing up for COVID-19 exposure notifications from CA Notify.

* Answering the call if a contact tracer from the CA COVID Team or local health department tries to connect.

* Following guidance from public health officials.

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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