The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Wednesday 59 additional deaths and 30,081 new cases of COVID-19 countywide, with 61,584 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

Today, Public Health confirmed 59 additional deaths and 30,081 new cases of COVID-19. Of the 59 new deaths reported today, one person was between the ages of 18 and 29, two were between the ages of 30 and 49, 11 were between the ages of 50 and 64, 30 were between the ages of 65-79, and 15 were over the age of 80 years old. Of the 59 newly reported deaths, 51 had underlying conditions. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 28,181.

Public Health has identified a total 2,343,821 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Today’s positivity rate is 16.9%.

There are 4,799 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 10,725,900 individuals, with 20% of people testing positive.

Schools Dee Drop in Positive Testing Rates

With most schools open for in-person learning, recent Public Health data showed test positivity rates dropped among students and staff while the number of schools reporting cases increased sharply coinciding with the re-opening of LAUSD campuses.

For the week of January 9th through January 15th, there were 1,032 K-12 schools reporting positive cases; this represented a 55% increase since the first week of December 2021, when 665 schools reported positive cases.

Also, for the week ending January 15th, there were almost 595,000 tests administered to students and staff at K-12 schools. Of those, 11% were positive, down from 15% the prior week.  Although an estimated 65,000 students and staff tested positive last week, only three new outbreaks (2 elementary schools and 1 in high school) were identified signaling that most of the recent cases represent high rates of community transmission.

To help ensure safety at schools, over 140 school-based vaccine clinics are scheduled this week and nearly 500 school-based vaccine clinics are scheduled in February. School vaccine clinics offer pediatric doses for those 5-11 years of age, as well as boosters for eligible students 12 years of age and older. As a reminder, vaccines continue to provide the best protection against illness and hospitalizations and are the safest way to keep kids in school and other activities.

Schools are working with Public Health and the LA County Office of Education to increase testing capacity to best manage potential school exposures while supporting in-person learning for as many students as possible. All infected students and staff are required to isolate at home away from others for a minimum of 5 days.  Asymptomatic students and staff that test negative on day 5 of their isolation period may return to school on or after day 6 of their isolation period, returning students and staff must remain asymptomatic and always wear a high-grade mask when around others, both indoors and outdoors until 10 days have passed from their positive test or the day their symptoms began. Schools can receive assistance from Public Health to support case identification, notification, and contact tracing.      “I send my heartfelt condolences to everyone mourning the loss of a loved one to COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MEd, Director of Public Health.  “Keeping our schools available for in-person learning during this Omicron fueled surge is not easy and I commend our school communities for all the work they are doing to keep children and staff safe.  This is particularly challenging in our elementary schools where, on average, three-quarters of students are not fully vaccinated, making it critically important to use infection control practices to limit spread of a highly infectious variant.

“Prioritizing and ensuring safety at schools during a surge is only possible if all those at the school commit to complying fully with public health measures; this cannot be accomplished by administrators or staff alone. Wearing a high- grade face mask both indoors and outdoors when around others is absolutely essential, as all evidence points to the effectiveness of well-fitting high-quality masks in limiting spread of virus particles,” Ferrer continued. “Frequent testing can help identify asymptomatic individuals before they have a lot of opportunities to transmit to others, so parents are urged to allow their children to participate in school testing programs. And everyone infected and exposed will need to follow the school-based isolation and quarantine rules that are meant to reduce school outbreaks. Without everyone working together to minimize exposures, there could be more disruptions affecting school communities across the county.”

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

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital reported Wednesday zero tests pending, 98 patients in the hospital, a total of 1,887 patients who have been treated and discharged since the pandemic began, and no additional deceased, hospital spokesman Patrick Moody confirmed.

“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.

Santa Clarita Valley Wednesday Update

As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard reported no additional deaths in the city of Santa Clarita, bringing the total of COVID-19 deaths since the onset of the pandemic to 383.

The following is the community breakdown of the 383 SCV residents who have died, according to the L.A. County dashboard:

Santa Clarita: 316

Castaic: 23

Acton: 14

Stevenson Ranch: 9

Unincorporated Canyon Country: 7

Agua Dulce: 5

Val Verde: 3

Valencia: 2

Unincorporated Bouquet Canyon: 1

Elizabeth Lake: 1

Newhall: 1

unincorporated Saugus/Canyon Country: 1

Lake Hughes: 0 (**revised from 1)

SCV Cases

Of the 61,584 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 45,763

* Castaic: 6,256

Stevenson Ranch: 3,360

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 2,139

Acton: 1,229

Val Verde: 688

Agua Dulce: 660

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 573

Saugus (unincorporated portion):  274

Elizabeth Lake: 168

Bouquet Canyon: 127

Lake Hughes: 116

Saugus/Canyon Country: 79

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 74

Sand Canyon: 37

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 31

Placerita Canyon: 10

*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

The most up to date data is available on the state’s COVID-19 data dashboard.

The following CDPH data is the most recent information from Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022.

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

– 67,900,959 total vaccines administered.

– 81.1% of the eligible population (5+) has been vaccinated with at least one dose.

– 159,173 people a day are receiving COVID-19 vaccination (average daily dose count over 7 days).

Cases

– California has 6,910,991 confirmed cases to date.

– Friday’s average case count is 110,967 (average daily case count over 7 days).

Testing

– The testing positivity rate is 20.9% (average rate over 7 days).

Hospitalizations

– There are 15,179 hospitalizations statewide.

– There are 2,404  ICU patients statewide.

– Unvaccinated people were 6.0 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 (data from Dec. 20, 2021 to Dec. 26, 2021).

Deaths

– There have been 77,345 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

– COVID-19 claims the lives of 44 Californians each day (average daily death count over 7 days).

– Unvaccinated people were 17.8 times more likely to die from COVID-19 (data from Dec. 20, 2021 to Dec. 26, 2021).

Health Care Workers

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.2 to Jan. 8, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.5 days. During this same time period, 57% of patients received test results in one day and 81% received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

As of Jan. 17, there have been 783 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.