The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Monday 18new deaths and 1,473 new cases of COVID-19 countywide, with 39,128 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

Of the 18 new deaths reported today, seven people who passed away were over the age of 80, five people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, two people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, and two people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49. One death was reported by the City of Long Beach and one death was reported by the City of Pasadena. To date, Public Health has identified 1,528,586 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 27,184 deaths.

There are 562 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 9,434,000 individuals, with 15% of people testing positive

Tuesday’s test positivity rate is 1.7%.

Omicron Variant Found In Northern California

With the recent detection of Omicron in Northern California, residents and businesses are concerned about the implications of a more infectious variant on safety and business operations.  And while the impact of Omicron is uncertain, it is clear there are immediate action steps everyone can take to protect each other and slow transmission.

Vaccines remain the most effective tool and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) encourages everyone 5 and older not yet vaccinated or boosted to do so with a sense of urgency.  The vaccines are effective against the Delta variant and very effective against earlier strains of the virus, which gives us hope that these same vaccines will also provide some protection against Omicron.

Given that there continues to be substantial transmission of COVID-19 and while teams are working to determine how effective the vaccines are against Omicron, all residents and workers need to be sure to adhere to vaccination verification and masking requirements and wear a mask when indoors or at large outdoor mega events regardless of vaccination status.  Public Health strongly recommends individuals to wear a mask when at any crowded indoor or outdoor event.

Testing is an important tool in early detection of infection to reduce spread and Public Health encourages residents who have traveled for the holidays to get tested if they traveled internationally or to locations in this country with high transmission rates, or they participated at gatherings and events with large numbers of people, some of which may be unvaccinated. Residents are reminded that they are legally required to isolate if they have a positive COVID test result and that vaccinated close contacts with symptoms and unvaccinated close contacts need to quarantine.

The Public Health lab is coordinating with the state lab for the identification of Omicron with specimen testing. Currently, anywhere between 1,500 to 5,000 positive specimens from L.A. County residents are sequenced each week with results reported to both L.A. County and the state.  Public Health will continue to rely on the network of commercial and public health labs to ensure that the County is receiving a representative assessment of the prevalent variants in L.A. County.   To date, the Public Health lab has not identified any presence of Omicron in any sequenced specimens. The Delta variant remains the predominant variant accounting for almost all sequenced specimens.

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

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

On Tuesday, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital had zero tests pending, 12 patients in the hospital, and a total of 1,660 patients who have been treated and discharged since the pandemic began, and no additional deceased, spokesman Patrick Moody confirmed.

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 Monday Update
As of 4:30 p.m. Monday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard recorded two additional deaths in the city of Santa Clarita, and one additional death in Acton, bringing the total number of deaths in the SCV from COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic to 361.

The following is the community breakdown of the 361 SCV residents who have died, according to the L.A. County dashboard:

300 in Santa Clarita

21 in Castaic

12 in Acton

9 in Stevenson Ranch

6 in unincorporated Canyon Country

4 in Agua Dulce

3 in Val Verde

2 in Valencia

1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon

1 in Elizabeth Lake

1 in Newhall

1 in unincorporated Saugus/Canyon Country

0 in Lake Hughes (**revised from 1)

SCV Cases

Of the 39,128 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 28,727

* Castaic: 4,630

Stevenson Ranch: 1,879

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 1,232

Acton: 825

Val Verde: 452

Agua Dulce: 433

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 314

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 179

Elizabeth Lake: 126

Bouquet Canyon: 78

Lake Hughes: 77

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 70

Saugus/Canyon Country: 55

Sand Canyon: 24

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 22

Placerita Canyon: 5

*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.

L.A. County

“To everyone who has lost a friend or loved one to COVID-19, we send you our deepest condolences,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Over the course of our month long drive to roll out boosters in skilled nursing facilities, cases and hospitalizations dropped among the residents of these facilities far more dramatically than they did among the population at large. Clearly boosters, along with very high vaccination coverage with two doses among staff and residents, make a difference by enhancing protection. We encourage all adults 18 and over eligible for booster doses to go ahead and get that booster dose as an important way to protect from getting infected and spreading the virus; since transmission remains substantial across the county, this additional boost makes a difference.”

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, 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 Monday

The California Department of Public Health released the most recent statistics on COVID-19 Monday and updates on the state’s pandemic response. The most up-to-date data is available on the state’s COVID-19 data dashboard.

“As expected, and thanks to California’s large-scale testing and early detection systems, the State of California and the San Francisco Department of Public Health have confirmed a case of the Omicron variant in California. Our partners at the University of California, San Francisco identified this case through their sequencing capabilities. California is continuing to monitor the variant’s presence and progress through the state’s robust Whole Genome Sequencing surveillance.

Californians must remain vigilant against this variant, but it is not a cause for panic. To help detect and prevent the spread of this new variant, the State of California is increasing COVID-19 testing at our airports for arrivals from countries identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDPH recognizes that everyone is exhausted, and the news of a new variant can be overwhelming. It is important that everyone collectively focus on the things we know prevent the spread of COVID-19, and its variants. Individuals should 1. get vaccinated and boosted; 2. wear your mask in indoor settings; 3. get tested if you have symptoms; and 4. stay home if you are sick.

Statewide COVID-19 Data

Cases

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

– Unvaccinated people were 7.2 times more likely to get COVID-19 (data from Nov. 11, 2021 to Nov. 20, 2021).

– Unvaccinated people were 12.5 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 (data from Nov. 7, 2021 to Nov. 13, 2021).

– Unvaccinated people were 14.8 times more likely to die from COVID-19 (data from Oct. 31, 2021 to Nov. 6, 2021).

Vaccinations

– 58,560,386 total vaccines administered.

– 76.3% of the eligible population (5+) has been vaccinated with at least one dose.

– 138,616  people a day are receiving COVID-19 vaccination (average daily dose count over 7 days).

Cases

– California has 4,810,164 confirmed cases to date.

– Today’s average case count is 3,879 (average daily case count over 7 days).

Testing

– The testing positivity rate is 3.4% (average rate over 7 days).

Hospitalizations

– There are 3,519  hospitalizations statewide.

– There are 901 ICU patients statewide.

Deaths

– There have been 73,822  COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

– COVID-19 claims the lives of 54 Californians each day (average daily death count over 7 days).

Additional Updates

Omicron Variant

CDPH issued a statement on the Omicron variant on November 28, 2021. For more information about the variant, see the Omicron variant fact sheet.

Testing Turnaround Time

The testing turnaround time dashboard reports how long California patients are waiting for COVID-19 test results. During the week of Nov. 11 to Nov. 20, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.0 day. During this same time period, 84% of patients received test results in one day and 96% received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

As of Nov. 29, there have been 723 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.