Los Angeles County Department of Public Health officials confirmed Wednesday 103 new deaths and 5,100 new cases of COVID-19 countywide, with 70,585 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley, with Henry Mayo reporting two additional deaths, officials said.

Local schools are continuing to see a decline in the number of positive tests and test positivity for their students and staff.

For the week of Jan. 31-Feb. 4, schools conducted 515,389 tests that resulted in 13,631 positive tests (with 9,537 positive tests from LAUSD). This is a 36% decrease from the 21,472 positive tests from the week prior. The test positivity rate also decreased by about 40% to 2.6%, compared to 4.4% for the week prior.

As of Feb. 3, 33% of 5-11 years old and 84% of 12–17-year-olds were reported as being vaccinated with at least one dose. Additionally, 24% of 5–11-year-olds were and 75% 12–17-year-olds were reported as fully vaccinated.

While test positivity and the number of positive tests in schools continue to decline, the number of outbreaks has remained relatively stable thanks to school-based safety measures, including masking and testing, that reduce spread.  There were 56 active school outbreaks, including 15 new outbreaks (seven in elementary schools, two in middle schools, five in high schools, and one in youth sports) between January 30 – February 5 a small increase compared to the 52 active school outbreaks the week prior.

“Our hearts remain with those families experiencing the sorrow of losing those they love to COVID-19,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “The decline in positive tests and test positivity suggests that schools continue to successfully implement recommended strategies that limit spread, such as screening and response testing, ensuring compliance with isolation and quarantine requirements, following recommended infection control guidelines, and as required by the state, wearing well-fitting masks. As always, we are grateful for the hard work of school superintendents, labor partners and staff, parents and students to implement these strategies that promote safety at schools and help us move closer to our post-surge phase and less transmission.”

Today, Public Health confirmed 103 additional deaths and 5,100 new cases of COVID-19. Of the 103 new deaths reported today, three people were between the ages of 30-49, 24 were between the ages of 50-64, 42 were between the ages of 65-79, and 33 were aged 80 years or older. Of the 103 newly reported deaths, 91 had underlying health conditions. Information on the one death reported by the City of Long Beach is available at www.LongBeach.gov. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 29,609.

Public Health has reported a total of 2,740,700 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Today’s positivity rate is 5%.

There are 2,597 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 11,218,100 individuals, with 22% of people testing positive.

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital reported Friday zero tests pending, 30 patients in the hospital, a total of 2,115 patients who have been treated and discharged since the pandemic began and Two additional deceased, confirmed spokesman Patrick Moody.

“We strongly encourage everyone to follow CDC guidelines to protect themselves and those around them,” Moody said.

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.

To keep workplaces and schools open, residents and workers are asked to:

– Get tested to help reduce the spread, especially if you traveled for the holidays, have had a possible exposure, or have symptoms, or are gathering with people not in your household

– Adhere to masking requirements when indoors or at crowded outdoor spaces, regardless of vaccination status

– Residents are legally required to be isolated if they have a positive COVID test result and vaccinated close contacts with symptoms and unvaccinated close contacts need to be quarantined.

For information on where you can get tested, please visit www.covid19.lacounty.gov/testing/.

For updated isolation and quarantine guidance, please visit www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective and are recommended for everyone 5 years old and older to help protect against COVID-19. Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status. Appointments are not needed at all Public Health vaccination sites and many community sites where first, second, and third doses are available.

To find a vaccination site near you, or to make an appointment, please visit:

www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) or

www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish).

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

Santa Clarita Valley Wednesday Update
As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard reports no additional deaths from COVID-19 leaving the total number of COVID-19 deaths to date in the SCV to 412.

The following is the community breakdown per L.A. County’s dashboard:

Santa Clarita: 336

Castaic: 27

Acton: 15

Unincorporated Canyon Country: 9 (revised from 10)

Stevenson Ranch: 10

Agua Dulce: 5

Val Verde: 3

Valencia: 2

Unincorporated Bouquet Canyon: 2

Elizabeth Lake: 1

Newhall: 1

unincorporated Saugus/Canyon Country: 1

Lake Hughes: 0 (**revised from 1)

SCV Cases

Of the 70,585 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 52,474

* Castaic:6,957

Stevenson Ranch: 3,885

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 2,507

Acton: 1,473

Val Verde: 810

Agua Dulce: 767

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 653

Saugus (unincorporated portion):  303

Elizabeth Lake: 198

Bouquet Canyon: 147

Lake Hughes: 139

Saugus/Canyon Country: 89

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 87

Sand Canyon: 47

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 34

Placerita Canyon: 15

*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.

California Wednesday

Statewide COVID-19 Data

Cases, hospitalizations and deaths are largely occurring among unvaccinated populations. See the data for unvaccinated and vaccinated cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

Vaccinations

– 70,361,963 total vaccines administered.

– 82.4% of the eligible population (5+) has been vaccinated with at least one dose.

– 84,967 people a day are receiving COVID-19 vaccination (average daily dose count over 7 days).

Cases

– California has 8,166,393 confirmed cases to date.

– Today’s average case count is 37,833 (average daily case count over 7 days).

– Unvaccinated people are 5.9 times more likely to get COVID-19 than boosted individuals (Jan. 10, 2022 – Jan. 16, 2022).

Testing

– The testing positivity rate is 8.7% (average rate over 7 days).

Hospitalizations

– There are 10,009 hospitalizations statewide.

– There are 1,958 ICU patients statewide.

– Unvaccinated people are 11.4 times more likely to be hospitalized than boosted individuals (Jan. 10, 2022 – Jan. 16, 2022).

Deaths

– There have been 80,912  COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

– COVID-19 claims the lives of 135 Californians each day (average daily death count over 7 days).

– Unvaccinated people are 21.8 times more likely to die than boosted individuals (Jan. 1, 2022 – Jan. 9, 2022).

Health Care Workers

Note: There has been no update of positive cases among health care workers since Jan. 6. As of Jan. 6, local health departments have reported 136,816 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 540 deaths statewide.

Testing Turnaround Time

The testing turnaround time dashboard reports how long California patients are waiting for COVID-19 test results. During the week of Jan. 23 to Jan. 29, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.4 days. During this same time period, 71% of patients received test results in one day and 88% received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

As of Feb. 7, there have been 809 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.

COVID-19 Wastewater Surveillance

CDPH and the California State Water Resources Control Board are coordinating with several wastewater utilities, local health departments, universities and laboratories in California to monitor wastewater surveillance for the virus causing COVID-19. An explanation of wastewater surveillance, list of participating sites and related resources can be found on this webpage.

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.