The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Wednesday 35 new deaths and 439 new cases of COVID-19, with 27,612 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

To date, Public Health identified 1,229,998 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 23,702 deaths.

Of the 35 new deaths reported today, 13 people that passed away were over the age of 80, 11 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, nine people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, and two people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49.

As of April 18, more than 6,488,391 million doses of vaccine have been administered in the County, including 4,176,360 first doses. Already, almost 2,312,031 million people have been fully vaccinated.

Over the past two and a half months, with vaccination campaigns aimed at increasing uptake in communities of color, the County has seen vaccine uptake increase 170% in Black communities, 151% among multiracial individuals, 130% in American Indian/Alaska Natives, 129% among Latinx residents, 91% among Asian residents, and 78% among White residents.

The County has now vaccinated about half of Asian, White, and American Indian/Alaska Native residents in L.A. County and have also made some important gains in vaccinating multiracial community members, where vaccinations increased from 11% to 37% with one dose. In Latinx residents, the vaccinated proportion of the population increased more than fourfold of what it was two months ago, and in Black residents, the proportion increased more than threefold.

California Wednesday Snapshot

California has 3,622,427 confirmed cases to date. Numbers may not represent true day-over-day change as reporting of test results can be delayed.

 There were 2,126 newly recorded confirmed cases Tuesday.

 The 7-day positivity rate is 1.5%.

 There have been 58,202,413 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 126,493 during the prior 24-hour reporting period.

 There have been 59,890 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

 As of April 21, providers have reported administering a total of 26,454,819 vaccine doses statewide. The CDC reports that 33,390,900 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 Worker Infection Rates
As of April 19, local health departments have reported 106,125 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 452 deaths statewide.

Santa Clarita Valley Wednesday Update
As of 6 p.m. Wednesday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard noted an additional death among Santa Clarita Valley residents; that brings total deaths to 299 among Santa Clarita Valley residents to date.

The following is the community breakdown of the 299 SCV residents who have died, according to the L.A. County dashboard:

257 lived in Santa Clarita

17 in Castaic

6 in Acton

6 in Stevenson Ranch

3 in Agua Dulce

3 in unincorporated Canyon Country

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 27,595 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 20,221

Castaic: 3,716

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

Stevenson Ranch: 1,133

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 836

Acton: 469

Val Verde: 336

Agua Dulce: 278

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 190

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 128

Elizabeth Lake: 76

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 68

Bouquet Canyon: 47

Lake Hughes: 42

Saugus/Canyon Country: 39

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 Tuesday Update
As of Tuesday, there were 16 cases pending, 11 patients were hospitalized in a dedicated COVID-19 unit, and a total of 1,210 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.

“As you can see from the number of patients we have here, the pandemic is not yet over,” Moody said. “We encourage everyone to remain cautious and follow safe practices.”

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

Over the course of the pandemic leading up to the very early days of the vaccine rollout, the County saw about 1 in every 10 L.A. County residents get infected with COVID-19 – and that’s a very low-end estimate of the real numbers, given how many people who were infected but didn’t get tested for one reason or another. During that same period, we saw about 1 in every 500 L.A. County residents die from COVID-19.

Looking at the data on breakthrough infections after vaccination that the CDC released last week, the risk of infection in people who are fully vaccinated was 1 in 13,275 – much less common than 1 in 10 infected with COVID-19 who were not vaccinated. And the risk of death goes from 1 in 500 to 1 in a million.

If you’re taking a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, getting the second dose is important. Although one vaccine gives you 50% to 80% protection, the second dose offers nearly 100% protection from getting a severe case of COVID-19. Please make sure you show up for your appointment for your second dose, and if you don’t have an appointment, please contact your vaccination provider to schedule a time to receive your second dose. As a reminder, if you received Moderna for your first dose, you need to get Moderna for your second dose; if you received Pfizer the first time, you will need a Pfizer vaccine the second time. Your vaccination card tells you which vaccine you received. As a reminder, for those who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, you are done. It is one dose, you wait two weeks and you are fully protected.

“We extend our thoughts and prayers to every person and family mourning the loss of their loved one and wish you healing and peace during this most difficult time,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “For those of you who feel scared about getting vaccinated because of the very small chance of a serious side effect, think about the other things we do where you also have a small chance of a bad outcome. For example, the risk of dying during a 200-mile car trip in the state of California is about one in a million – but if someone told you they were taking you on an all-expenses-paid vacation to Monterey, you’d probably go. And our chances of getting food poisoning every year is 1 in 6, but we are still comfortable eating at a friend’s house or our favorite restaurant. Meanwhile, the risk of having a serious side effect from COVID-19 vaccination is about 1 in a million. If you’re looking for a way to dramatically reduce your risk of getting infected with COVID-19 or dying from infection, getting a vaccine is an exceptionally powerful tool for doing that. I hope you’ll all speak with your family and friends about getting vaccinated as soon as you’re able.”

L.A. County’s case rate remains low and stable. On March 13, the County was seeing 544 cases a day. A month later, on April 13, that number decreased to 413 cases a day, a 24% decrease. Over the same period of time, the County saw a 24% drop in daily hospitalizations, from 544 to 413, and daily deaths dropped even more dramatically by 84% from 31 to 5.

Public Health continues to identify variant cases in Los Angeles County. The two most commonly circulating variants of concern in L.A. County have been and remain the UK (B.1.1.7) and California (B.1.427/429) variants. Of the 59 specimens analyzed by the L.A. County Public Health Laboratory in the past week, 50% were the UK variant and 10% were the California variant. Most of the specimens analyzed were associated with clusters of cases, and where specimens were sequenced from larger outbreaks, the UK variant is currently identified more often than other virus variants. The Public Health Laboratory did not detect any additional Brazil (P.1) variants last week, although it is likely there are undetected cases of this variant circulating in our region.

The identification of these variants highlights the need for L.A. County residents to continue to take measures to protect themselves and others including wearing a mask, maintaining at least 6 feet of distance from those who do not live in your household, and getting the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as you can. All currently available information indicates that vaccines appear to be highly effective in preventing transmission, hospitalizations, and deaths, even with the increased presence of variants.

There are 484 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 23% of these people are in the ICU. Testing results are available for nearly 6,360,000 individuals with 18% of people testing positive. Today’s daily test positivity rate is 0.9%.

Throughout the pandemic, the higher the levels of area poverty, the higher the rates of death due to COVID-19 infection. Fortunately, with significantly less community transmission, death rates have plummeted across all communities and the difference in the rates between communities with high rates of poverty and communities with very little poverty has narrowed to 0.8%.

The pandemic also disproportionately affected Non-White populations in the County. The impact on Pacific Islanders was particularly severe, with nearly 6 times as high a hospitalization rate as among White residents, and more than 3 times as high a death rate. Although Latino/Latinx residents were hospitalized at only 2.9 times as high a rate as White residents, they died from their infections at 3 times as high a rate. Black/African American (1.7), American Indian/Alaskan Native (1.6), and Asian (1.3) residents also died of COVID-19 at rates higher than those of White residents.

The County recently modified required safety measures when you host or attend an informal gathering, increasing the maximum number of people who can attend an outdoor gathering to 50 with safety measures in place. Although Public Health continues to discourage indoor gatherings, these can happen with up to 25 people or at 25% of occupancy where capacity limits exist with safety measures in place. At informal gatherings where everyone is vaccinated: in these cases, you can socialize without masking and distancing.

Outdoors is still safer than indoors. When you’re socializing informally with unvaccinated people, try to gather outdoors or if you must gather indoors, open the windows and doors to increase air circulation in the place where you’re gathering and follow safety measures including keeping your masks on unless you’re eating or drinking, and if you are gathering indoors, step outside to eat and drink so the area around you is well ventilated while your mask is off. Maintain your distance, and make sure you wash or sanitize your hands often. And as best you can, use your normal voice even if things get exciting – shouting, cheering, and singing spread the virus more efficiently.

Everyone living or working in L.A. County 16 and older is eligible for COVID-19 vaccine. To learn how to make an appointment, what verifications people will need to show at the vaccination appointment, and much more, visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish). Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status.

County Reopening Protocols, 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

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released the most recent statistics Tuesday on COVID-19, including updated data and tiers for reducing COVID-19 in the state under the Blueprint for a Safer Economy.

Updated Activity & Business Tiers Chart

The Addendum to Blueprint Activity & Business Tiers Chart has been updated to shorten the distance between fully vaccinated-only sections and any other section in a venue to at least 6 feet (previously 12 feet). The chart also aligns with current guidance to allow outdoor food and drink concessions if physical distancing is maintained at all times. Indoor concessions must be closed unless otherwise permitted in Orange and Yellow Tiers.

Increased Transparency and Updated School Reopening Maps

The school reopening maps on the Safe Schools Hub have been updated with self-reported data from school districts, charter schools, and private schools throughout the state. Schools are required to submit this data on the second and fourth Monday of each month. This is the first update with data pursuant to AB 86 and includes:

School-Level Data. Reopening status can be searched for and viewed not only on a district-wide basis, but also a school-by-school basis.

Enrollment Data. The maps display data not only on the instructional modes offered, but also on the number of students enrolled in different instructional modes: full time in-person, hybrid, and distance learning.

Note: The self-reported data may include some gaps in data and errors. The maps will be routinely updated to reflect new data, and the state will continue to improve data quality and visualizations.

Vaccine Eligibility Update

As of April 15, individuals aged 16+ are eligible to make an appointment to be vaccinated. To sign up for a notification when you’re eligible for a vaccine, please visit myturn.ca.gov. For more information on the vaccine effort, visit Vaccinate All 58.

Tracking Variants

Multiple variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 have been identified globally during the COVID-19 pandemic. These genetic mutations are expected, and some emerge and then disappear, while others persist or become common. Most variants do not have a meaningful impact. Public health becomes concerned about a variant when it affects COVID-19 transmission, severity, testing, treatment or vaccine effectiveness. Get more information on the variants CDPH is currently monitoring.

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 April 20

0 counties in the Purple (widespread) Tier

17 counties in the Red (substantial) Tier

38 counties in Orange (moderate) Tier

3 counties in Yellow (minimal) Tier

Blueprint tiers are updated weekly on Tuesdays. Find the status of activities in specific counties.

Additional Date and Updates

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 Household Survey

CDPH announced today a research study to help better understand the spread of COVID-19 in California. In partnership with Stanford University, Gauss Surgical and seven county departments of public health, including Alameda, El Dorado, Kern, Los Angeles, Monterey, San Diego, and Shasta counties, CalScope will ask randomly selected households to complete an anonymous survey and a test using a finger-prick to draw a few drops of blood to see if they have COVID-19 antibodies. The study will not ask for identifying information such as name or date of birth. Mailed invitations will be sent to more than 45,000 households. For more information about the CalScope study, please visit the study website at CalScope.org.

Updated Travel Advisory
California updated its travel advisory on April 2. CDPH and the CDC recommend delaying travel until persons are fully vaccinated, because travel increases the chance of getting and spreading COVID-19. Unvaccinated persons should postpone travel and stay home to protect yourself and others from COVID-19, and unvaccinated Californians should continue to avoid non-essential travel outside of the state. Unvaccinated non-essential travelers from other states or countries are strongly discouraged from entering California and should follow CDC travel guidance related to testing and self-quarantine.

Safe Schools for All Plan
Gov. Newsom released his California’s Safe Schools for All plan, California’s framework to support schools to continue operating safely in person and to expand the number of schools safely resuming in-person instruction. View the data for public schools by selecting a specific district on the School Districts Reopening Map. The map includes reported outbreaks since January 1, 2021.

New Testing Turnaround Time Dashboard
The testing turnaround dashboard reports how long California patients are waiting for COVID-19 test results. During the week of April 4 – April 10, the average time patients waited for test results was just under one day. During this same time period, 83% of patients received test results in one day and 97% received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)
As of April 19, there have been 484 cases Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) have been 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.

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. Contact your child’s doctor immediately if your child has these symptoms. Early diagnosis and treatment of patients is critical to preventing long-term complications.

Popular links include:

– 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)

Your Actions Save Lives
California is experiencing the fastest increase in cases we have seen yet – faster than what we experienced at the outset of the pandemic and this summer. If COVID-19 continues to spread at this rate, it could quickly overwhelm our health care system and lead to catastrophic outcomes. Protect yourself, family, friends and community by following these prevention measures:

– Staying home except for essential needs/activities and following local and state public health guidelines when visiting businesses that are open.

– Following the Limited Stay at Home Order that requires allnon-essential work and activities to stop between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. in counties in the purple tier. The order took effect at 10 p.m. Saturday, November 21, and will remain in effect until 5 a.m. December 21.

– Staying close to home, avoiding non-essential travel, and practicing self-quarantine for 14 days after arrival if you leave the state.

– Keeping gatherings small, short and outdoors and limiting them to those 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.

– Following guidance from public health officials.

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.Tuesday COVID-19 Roundup: L.A. County Remains in Orange Tier; SCV Cases Total 27,595