The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed 27 additional deaths and an additional 714 positive cases Wednesday, with 16 new cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

This new data brings Los Angeles County death totals to 31,535, county case totals to 2,826,928 and Santa Clarita Valley case totals to 72,124 since March of 2020.

Of the 27 new deaths reported today, three people were between the ages of 50-64, seven were between the ages of 65-79, and 14 were aged 80 years or older. Of the 27 newly reported deaths, all 27 people had underlying health conditions.

Note that 1,157 additional cases have been added to the cumulative total of positive cases due to a backlog of cases from the surge. Almost all of the backlog cases these past two weeks have been reported from two labs. The California Department of Public Health is aware of these reporting delays which affect case counts across many parts of the state. Wednesday’s positivity rate is 0.7%.

There are 378 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 11,627,300 individuals, with 22% of people testing positive.

Access to Therapeutics Critical to Providing an Additional Layer of Protection

Building a network of well-supplied, convenient locations to access therapeutics, especially in communities hardest hit by COVID-19, is critical for the County as it works to protect residents at elevated risk of severe illness. In addition to the vaccines, COVID-19 therapeutics offer an additional layer of protection, and Public Health continues efforts to expand the network of pharmacies and other locations that can offer easy access to these treatments.

Residents who test positive for COVID-19 and are at elevated risk for severe illness should promptly call their doctor to see if they qualify for one of the outpatient treatments such as the new oral medications (Paxlovid and Molnupiravir) or injectable treatments (Sotrovimab, Bebtelovimab or Remdesivir). These treatments work best when taken as soon as possible after symptom onset. Residents who cannot receive a COVID-19 vaccination for medical reasons or whose immune system is not strong enough to mount a response to the vaccine should speak to their provider about Evusheld, an injectable medicine that is used to prevent COVID-19 infections.

The federal government “Test to Treat” program includes 20 CVS Minute Clinics in LA County and is soon expanding to additional sites, including several Walgreens locations, in LA County. These additional locations will be announced soon and will allow patients to walk into local pharmacies and clinics with onsite clinics and get tested and treated on the same visit at the same location.

CVS encourages residents to make a Minute Clinic appointment online with a request to get the COVID test or if they have a test result that they are positive. If the residents have health insurance, they should include their insurance info when making the appointment. Residents are also strongly recommended to wear a medical mask or a respirator when entering a “Test to Treat” location. If the resident tests positive, an onsite clinician will evaluate if they are at high risk and eligible for therapeutics. If eligible, the clinician will prescribe the medication for pick up at the onsite pharmacy. Walk-ups are allowed, although not preferred. Residents can find current “Test to Treat” locations in LA County at: ph.lacounty.gov/covidmedicines.

More eligible residents are receiving these treatments through pharmacies, partners, and providers. To date, Public Health has distributed 24,080 doses of Paxlovid, 40,988 doses of Molnupiravir, and 14,568 doses of Evusheld, with 68% of Paxlovid doses, 80% of Molnupiravir doses, and 64% of Evusheld allocated to residents in the most under-resourced communities in the County.

To find therapeutics available at neighborhood pharmacies, individuals can search at: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/Test-to-treat-locations.aspx.

Residents can also visit the Federal therapeutics locator or call the COVID-19 information line at 833-540-0473, 8:00 am – 8:30 pm daily. The call center is a free resource where residents can get culturally and linguistically appropriate information about available therapeutics, and how to access them.

“We continue to extend our deepest sympathies to everyone mourning the loss of a loved one from COVID,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “As therapeutics become an increasingly important strategy for our post-surge plan, Public Health is concerned about the potential loss of federal funding needed to address the ongoing pandemic. The loss of this funding, which would also impact testing, vaccinations, boosters, masks, and other treatments, threatens our recovery and will result in increased risk for communities that have already borne the brunt of COVID-19. Without the ability to secure additional live-saving treatments, our ability to continue increasing access to these therapeutics will evaporate, and we urge Congress to provide states and local public health departments with the funding needed to effectively continue the COVID-19 response.”

A wide range of data and dashboards on COVID-19 from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health are available on the Public Health website at http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

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

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital

At the time of reporting Henry Mayo’s updated numbers were unavailable the follow is from Tuesday’s report

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital currently has zero tests pending, three patients in the hospital, a total of 2,217 patients who have been treated and discharged since the pandemic began, with no additional deaths, spokesman Michael Crawford confirmed. Henry Mayo has reported 227 deaths to date.

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.

Santa Clarita Valley Wednesday Update
As of 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard added an additional death to the city of Santa Clarita, bringing the total of number of deaths from COVID-19 to 454 since the onset of the pandemic.

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

Santa Clarita: 371

Castaic: 28

Acton: 17

Stevenson Ranch: 14

Unincorporated Canyon Country: 9 (revised from 10)

Agua Dulce: 5

Val Verde: 3 (revised from 4)

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 72,124 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 53, 597

* Castaic:7,088

Stevenson Ranch: 3,993

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 2,579

Acton: 1,513

Val Verde: 828

Agua Dulce: 779

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 668

Saugus (unincorporated portion):  309

Elizabeth Lake: 203

Bouquet Canyon: 148

Lake Hughes: 146

Saugus/Canyon Country: 89

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 87

Sand Canyon: 48

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

Vaccinations

– 72,522,321 total vaccines administered.

– 83.7% of the eligible population (5+) has been vaccinated with at least one dose.

– 27,294 people a day are receiving COVID-19 vaccination (average daily dose count over 7 days).

Cases

– California has 8,471,120 confirmed cases to date.

– Wednesday’s average case count is 2,271 (average daily case count over 7 days).

– Unvaccinated people are 4.4 times more likely to get COVID-19 than boosted individuals (Feb. 28, 2022 – March 6, 2022).

Testing

– The testing positivity rate is 1.2% (average rate over 7 days).

Hospitalizations

– There are 1,774 hospitalizations statewide.

– There are 299 ICU patients statewide.

– Unvaccinated people are 8.5 times more likely to be hospitalized than boosted individuals (Feb. 28, 2022 – March 6, 2022).

Deaths

– There have been 87,590 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

– COVID-19 claims the lives of 71 Californians each day (average daily death count over 7 days).

– Unvaccinated people are 13.8 times more likely to die than boosted individuals (Feb. 21, 2022 – Feb. 27, 2022).

Health Care Workers

Note: As of March 17, local health departments have reported 152,773 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 574 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 March 6 to March 12, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.4 days. During this same time period, 90% of patients received test results in one day and 96% received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

As of March 21, there have been 907 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.

Additional Updates

Mask Guidance: Under California’s mask guidance, universal masking is required only in specified higher risk settings like hospitals, public transit and congregate living facilities. Unvaccinated persons are required to mask in all indoor public settings. Fully vaccinated individuals are recommended to continue indoor masking when the risk may be high. Workplaces will continue to follow the COVID-19 prevention standards set by CalOSHA. Local health jurisdictions may implement requirements that are stricter than state guidance.

Slow the Spread: Get Vaccinated and Boosted for COVID-19

The risk for COVID-19 exposure and infection continues as a number of Californians remain unvaccinated and unboosted.

Real-world evidence continues to show that the vaccine is preventing severe illness, hospitalization, and death. Public health officials urge Californians to get vaccinated and boosted as soon as possible.

It is recommended that every vaccinated person 12 years or older should get a booster as long as they received their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine at least five months ago or they received their Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least two months ago.

Vaccination appointments can be made by visiting myturn.ca.gov or calling 1-833-422-4255. The consent of a parent or legal guardian may be needed for those under age 18 to receive a vaccination. Visit Vaccinate All 58 to learn more about the safe and effective vaccines available for all Californians 5+.

Your Actions Save Lives

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

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.