The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health on Wednesday confirmed 64 new deaths and 3,266 new cases of COVID-19, with 4,038 cases confirmed to date in the SCV, including 1,878 in the city of Santa Clarita.

To date, Public Health has identified 164,870 positive cases of COVID-19 and a total of 4,312 deaths across all areas of L.A. County, including 41 in the Santa Clarita Valley. Countywide, 92% of people who died had underlying health conditions.

COVID-19 has killed more than 3,400 people in the first six months of this year, making it on track to be the second-leading cause of death in L.A. County.

From January to June of last year, coronary heart disease was the top cause of death, with nearly 6,000 deaths attributed to it.

According to Public Health, it appears that COVID-19, with more than 3,400 deaths during the same time period, is on track to claim more lives in L.A. County than any disease except coronary heart disease — killing more people than Alzheimer’s Disease, other kinds of heart disease, stroke and COPD.

For additional comparison, influenza killed 1,521 people during the 2019 flu season from October to May.

40 and Under Driving the County Surge
New cases continue to be driven by people under the age of 41 years old with 57% of the new cases reported by Public Health Wednesday (excluding Long Beach and Pasadena).

On June 22, the seven-day average of new cases was 1,763; now the county is averaging 2,952 new cases a day — almost twice as many cases reported just a month ago.

This is higher than at any point this entire pandemic.

There are 2,207 confirmed cases currently hospitalized, 27% of these people are confirmed cases in the ICU and 19% are confirmed cases on ventilators.

This is the fourth consecutive day exceeding 2,200 daily hospitalizations.

“Every family that loses a loved one to COVID-19 is left with a void in their lives that they will never be able to fill. We think of you and our hearts go out to you,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health.

“The flu is a dangerous virus in its own right, but it is nowhere near as deadly as COVID-19,” Ferrer said. “COVID-19 is on track to become the second leading cause of death in L.A. County and we need to take its strength and power seriously.”

Santa Clarita Valley Wednesday Update
In the Santa Clarita Valley, as of 8 p.m. Monday, July 20, 41 SCV residents have died of the virus to date: 33 resided in the city of Santa Clarita, 2 in Acton, 2 in Castaic, 1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon, 1 in Stevenson Ranch, 1 in Val Verde, and 1 in unincorporated Valencia, according to Public Health records.

Of the 4,038 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 1,878

Castaic: 1,840 (includes Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility*)

Stevenson Ranch: 97

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 69

Acton: 40

Val Verde: 39

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 31

Agua Dulce: 17

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 12

Elizabeth Lake: 5

Newhall (unincorporated portion): 4

Sand Canyon: 3

Bouquet Canyon: 1

Lake Hughes: 1

Saugus/Canyon Country: 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 Wednesday Update
Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital reported its 16th COVID-related death on Monday, July 20, according to Patrick Moody, hospital spokesman.

As of Monday, of the 4,793 people tested at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital to date, 555 tested positive, 5,063 were negative, 339 were pending, 26 patients were hospitalized in a dedicated unit receiving ICU-level care (up 3 from a week ago) and a total of 151 COVID-19 patients have been discharged so far, Moody said.

Discrepancies in the testing numbers are due to some patients being tested multiple times. “Often a single patient is tested more than once,” Moody said.

The hospital is now releasing statistics on a weekly basis (Wednesdays) unless there is a drastic change in the number of cases or a death has been confirmed.

L.A. County Testing, Contact Tracing
Testing results are available for more than 1,579,000 individuals with 10% of all people testing positive.

It is 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 24 hours after symptoms and fever subside. If a person has a positive lab result for COVID-19, expect a public health specialist from L.A. County Public Health to contact them by phone to interview about possible exposures and to identify others who may have also been exposed to the infection.

The information is protected and cannot be shared with others except in emergency situations. A public health specialist will never ask for a Social Security number, payment or documented status.

Public Health has a dedicated call line for confirmed cases of COVID-19. If you have not yet connected with a public health specialist or need more information on services, call toll-free at 1-833-540-0473. Residents who do not have COVID-19 should continue to call 211 for resources or more information.

L.A. County Demographic
Of the 64 new deaths, 45 people that passed away (excluding Long Beach and Pasadena) were over the age of 65 years old and 18 people who died were between the ages of 41 and 65 years. Fifty-six people had underlying health conditions including 40 people over the age of 65 years old and 16 people between the ages of 41 to 65 years old. One death was reported by the City of Long Beach.

Upon further investigation, 69 cases and five deaths reported earlier were not L.A. County residents.

Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 3,927 people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health); 47% of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 26% among White residents, 15% among Asian residents, 11% among African American/Black residents, less than 1% among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander residents and 1% among residents identifying with other races.

Data continues to expose disproportionality in health outcomes by race, ethnicity and income level data. African American/Black and Latino/Latinx residents are still twice as likely to die from COVID-19 when compared to White residents. Communities with high levels of poverty are still four times as likely to die of COVID-19 compared to residents with the highest income.

Best Protections — Now More than Ever
Business owners and residents need to make sure they are doing their part to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Current Health Officer Orders require business owners to close indoor operations at many businesses and take immediate action to implement strategies that protect workers and customers.

Public Health urges everyone to avoid the Three C’s: Crowded places, Confined spaces and Close contact with others not in your household.

Everyone should always wear a face covering securely over your nose and mouth and keep six feet apart from others not in your household when out in public. Public Health reminds everyone that you remain safer at home.

“A lax attitude to this virus can be deadly for someone you love,” Ferrer said. “You could be infected, not know it, and pass the infection to someone you love who may not be as lucky as you. Please be caring of those around you — wear a face covering, maintain physical distancing and practice hand hygiene. It can save lives.”

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 Snapshot
California as of July 21 has had more COVID-19 cases to date than New York state by about 500, according to data from the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine dashboard.

The California Department of Public Health on Wednesday confirmed 12,807 new COVID-19 cases, a new single-day record high, and 115 new deaths. There have been 413,576 confirmed cases and 7,870 deaths from the disease since the pandemic began.

California’s 14-day positivity rate — a key indicator of community spread — remains at 7.4% while the state’s 7-day average of new cases is 9,420. Over the last week, an average of 90 infected people died each day.

There were 7,170 confirmed hospitalizations and 2,058 ICU hospitalizations statewide.

Governor Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday that California has moved to secure an additional 120 million N-95 masks and 300 million more surgical masks for distribution to front-line workers. The state intends to maintain a stockpile of 100 million N-95 respirators and 200 million surgical masks.

California July 13 Reopenings Rollback
A total of 32 California counties accounting for 80 percent of the state’s population including Los Angeles and Ventura are now required by the California Department of Public Health to close indoor operations for certain sectors based on the state’s July 13 order to slow community transmission.

See the complete list of counties here.

California Testing
There have been 6,414,321 tests conducted in California, an increase of 127,469 over the prior 24-hour reporting period.

These numbers include data from commercial, private and academic labs, including Quest, LabCorp, Kaiser, University of California and Stanford, and the 25 state and county health labs currently testing.

More than 85 community testing sites also offer free, confidential testing: Find a COVID-19 Testing Site.

The California Department of Public Health released updated testing guidance on July 14 that focuses on testing hospitalized individuals with signs or symptoms of COVID-19 and people being tested as part of the investigation and management of outbreaks, including contact tracing.

The testing guidance also prioritizes individuals who have COVID-19 symptoms and individuals without symptoms who fall into high-risk categories, including people who live and work in nursing homes, homeless shelters and prisons, healthcare workers, and patients in hospitals.

The new guidance will ensure that Californians who most need tests get them even if there are limited supplies.

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.

Protect Yourself and Your Family
Every person has a role to play. Protecting yourself and your family comes down to common sense:

* 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.

* Practicing social distancing

* 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, to 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

L.A. County residents can also call 2-1-1.