The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Wednesday 2 new deaths and 422 new cases of COVID-19, with 28,284 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

Of the two new deaths reported today, one person that passed away was over the age of 80 and one person who died was between the ages of 65 and 79.

To date, Public Health identified 1,250,240 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 24,483 deaths.  There are 255 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 25% of these people are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).  Testing results are available for nearly 7,026,000 individuals with 17% of people testing positive.

Compliance
Public Health inspectors continue to visit businesses across the County every day ensuring compliance with Cal/OSHA standards and the Health Officer Order, along with providing technical assistance. Since the June 15 full reopening, only two citations have been issued to a restaurant for noncompliance with Health Officer Orders.

Masks
Masks are required for all unvaccinated employees when indoors or in shared vehicles and employers must document the vaccination status of employees. In settings where there is close contact with other people who may not be fully vaccinated, employees should consider wearing a higher level of protection, such as wearing two masks (double masking) or wearing a respirator (N95). Businesses are required, upon request, to offer all unvaccinated employees who work indoors, a respirator.

Non-compliance from businesses can contribute to increased community transmission. Violations of safety requirements and dangerous conditions can be reported anonymously to Public Health by phone at 888-700-9995 or online at www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

Because of increased circulation of the highly transmissible Delta variant across the country, Public Health strongly recommends everyone, as a precautionary measure, wear masks indoors in settings such as grocery or retail stores; theaters and family entertainment centers, and workplaces when you don’t know everyone’s vaccination status.

Masks are required for all persons, regardless of vaccination status, on public transit and in transportation hubs; indoors while inside K-12 schools, childcare, camps and other youth settings; in healthcare settings, including long term care facilities; in state and local correctional facilities and detention centers; and in homeless shelters, emergency shelters, and cooling centers; indoors at mega-events with more than 5,000 attendees, and any business or government office serving the public that requires everyone to wear a mask.

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

Santa Clarita Valley Wednesday Update
As of 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard reported an additional death in the city of Santa Clarita, bringing the total number of COVID-19-related deaths in the SCV to 308.

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

265 in Santa Clarita

17 in Castaic (**revised 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 28,259 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 20,705

Castaic: 3,764

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

Stevenson Ranch: 1,182

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 855

Acton: 499

Val Verde: 339

Agua Dulce: 291

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 200

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 132

Elizabeth Lake: 82

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 69

Bouquet Canyon: 49

Lake Hughes: 42

Saugus/Canyon Country: 40

Sand Canyon: 17

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 15

Placerita Canyon: 3

*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 four tests pending, 12 patients hospitalized and a total of 1,254 patients had been treated and discharged since the pandemic began, and no additional deceased, hospital spokesman Patrick Moody said.

The last COVID-related death occurred May 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

While transmission in L.A. County remains low, L.A. County is seeing increases in cases and daily test positivity.  On June 15, the day of the full reopening, the County saw 210 new cases and the test positivity rate was around 0.5%.  Nearly two weeks after the June 15 reopening, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has confirmed a doubling of both new cases and the test positivity rate; today’s case numbers are 422 and the test positivity rate is 1.2%.

“To the families and friends experiencing the sorrow of losing of a loved one due to COVID-19, we send our deepest condolences,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Last year, we didn’t have the vaccine and there were increases in cases and hospitalizations that occurred after the Fourth of July holiday.  This year we have three powerful vaccines but there are still about 4 million residents that are unvaccinated and at risk of COVID-19 infection. With small increases in community transmission and an increase in the circulation of the Delta variant, your best protection and the best protection for the County’s recovery are the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines. And while we are increasing the number of people with vaccination protection, sensible public health precautions, including masking and hand hygiene can support our recovery.”

Through Thursday, July 1 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 two packages, each containing season passes to Six Flags, the LA Zoo, the Natural History Museum and the La Brea Tar Pits, and ticket packs to the California Science Center. Official rules and participating site locations are posted online on the Los Angeles 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 3,710,454 confirmed cases and 63,023 deaths to date. There are 1,089 confirmed hospitalizations and 307 ICU hospitalizations in the state. Note: Today’s report includes 6,372 fewer overall confirmed COVID-19 cases due to a routine audit of data by the state and local public health departments that resulted in the removal of duplicate and reclassified cases.

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

There were 2,013  newly recorded confirmed cases Monday.

The 7-day positivity rate is 1.3%.

There have been 69,556,079 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 113,653 during the prior 24-hour reporting period.

As of June 30, providers have reported administering a total of 41,603,652 vaccine doses statewide. The CDC reports that 48,149,315 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.

Note: Some counties are reporting backlogged cases due to data cleaning efforts. The number of backlogged cases varies by county and this is expected until July 2, 2021.

Updated Child Care Provider Guidance

On Wednesday, CDPH released updated guidance for child care providers, which is intended to ensure the safety of children, providers, and families. The guidance outlines policies and practices that prevent the spread of COVID-19 in facilities. Additionally, the guidance includes strategies for emergency preparedness planning, responding to exposure, and maintaining healthy environments.

Health Care Workers

As of June 29, local health departments have reported 113,012 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 475 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 June 13 to June 19, the average time patients waited for test results was under one day. During this same time period, 88% of patients received test results in one day and 97% received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

As of June 28, there have been 567 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.