The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health officials confirmed Wednesday 19 new deaths and 1,850 new cases of COVID-19 countywide, with 39,970 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

Of the 18 new deaths reported today, three people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49, five were between the ages of 50 and 64, four were between the ages of 65-79 and six were over the age of 80 years old. Of the 18 newly reported deaths, 14 had underlying conditions. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 27,369.

Public Health has identified a total 1,551,117 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County.

There are 751 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 9,628,444 individuals, with 15% of people testing positive.

Public Health Addresses Vaccine Equity Issue with Community Partners

As cases of COVID-19 continue to rise, efforts to improve vaccine equity across the county’s most diverse communities remain a top priority for Public Health and community organizations across the county.  Community organizations have employed hundreds of health educators and health workers to provide residents in hard hit communities with resources and information.  As of Dec. 14th, these efforts have resulted in more than 350,000 outreach activities, including support for 2,000 in-person vaccination events and 11,000 virtual COVID educational sessions. Combined, these efforts have reached more than 2.3 million residents to date.

Over four hundred local faith-based organizations have also been critical partners, reaching out to their congregants and neighbors to sponsor more than 813 mobile vaccination clinics throughout the county, including mobile clinics at churches, mosques, and temples. To date, nearly 53,000 doses of vaccines have been administered at faith-based clinics, and an estimated 50,000 additional doses are expected to be administered at these clinics through early 2022.

There are unique initiatives, including the TRAP Medicine’s barbershop outreach in South L.A, that are tailored to provide information to younger Black and Latinx men, many who are not yet vaccinated.  These partnerships and various other strategies have enabled in-person engagement with nearly 45,000 men in South L.A. since November 1 of this year.  Countywide, these targeted efforts have reached 300,000 men either virtually or in person over the last few months

**More from L.A. County Below**

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital reported four tests pending, 23 patients in the hospital, and a total of 1,679 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.

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 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard added two more deaths in the city of Santa Clarita, bringing the total number to 368 COVID-19 deaths to date in the Santa Clarita Valley.

The following is the community breakdown of the 368 SCV residents who have died, according to the L.A. County dashboard:

303 in Santa Clarita

22 in Castaic

13 in Acton

9 in Stevenson Ranch

7 in unincorporated Canyon Country

5 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 39,970 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 29,348

* Castaic: 4,696

Stevenson Ranch: 1,921

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 1,257

Acton: 860

Val Verde: 459

Agua Dulce: 448

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 325

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 189

Elizabeth Lake: 128

Bouquet Canyon: 85

Lake Hughes: 77

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 70

Saugus/Canyon Country: 55

Sand Canyon: 24

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 23

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

L.A. County Reaches Another Milestone

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health announced it has reached a new milestone in its fight against the COVID-19 virus. As of December 9th, 15 million doses (15,233,218) of COVID vaccines have been dispensed since the first dose was administered one year ago. In addition to administering vaccines at about 1,270 fixed sites weekly, health care providers administer vaccines at 560-570 mobile site visits each week, with approximately 70% of these mobile visits in the county’s highest-need communities. These collaborations have enabled Public Health to administer at least one dose to nearly 80% of those eligible to receive a vaccine countywide.

Many of the vaccine providers have deep roots in the communities they serve and are trusted by residents, helping to reach some of the county’s most underserved communities. Public Health has also played a pivotal role providing vaccines in the hardest hit communities, and as of December 9th, Public Health staff have administered more than 1.4 million doses of COVID vaccines at Public Health-run vaccination sites and clinics.

While great progress has been made, Public Health will continue vaccination efforts in the months to come. As of December 9, there are an additional 3.4 million people 16 and over who are eligible for but have not yet received an additional/booster dose, and 2.2 million people 5 and over who have not yet received their first dose. Our network of providers is also preparing to vaccinate the 534,506 L.A. County children under 5 who are likely to be eligible for vaccines early next year.

“The delivery of 15 million vaccines required a network of hundreds of providers willing to extend their services to serve residents across every community in the county,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “While we are proud of the work collectively done to administer 15 million vaccines in L.A. County, it is clear that we will need to continue to support vaccination efforts for months to come as we try to reach those still unvaccinated, those who need boosters, and those that are newly eligible. We have also learned that this network is not just focused on ensuring access; rather, this network needs to engage in outreach, provide culturally respectful information, and connect residents to additional needed supports.”

California Wednesday

Since Thanksgiving, the statewide seven-day average case rate has increased by almost half (47%) and hospitalizations have increased by 14%. In response to the increase in cases and hospitalizations, and to slow the spread of both Delta and the highly transmissible Omicron variant, CDPH has issued updated guidance to curb the spread of COVID-19 and its variants.

Beginning Dec. 15, CDPH will require masks to be worn in all indoor public settings irrespective of vaccine status through Jan.15, 2022, at which point California will make further recommendations as needed in response to the pandemic. For more information, click [here].

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 7.1 times more likely to get COVID-19 (data from Nov. 28, 2021 to Dec. 4, 2021).

– Unvaccinated people were 12.8 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 (data from Nov. 21, 2021 to Nov. 27, 2021).

– Unvaccinated people were 15.8 times more likely to die from COVID-19 (data from Nov 14. , 2021 to Nov.20 , 2021).

Vaccinations

– 61,740,985 total vaccines administered.

– 77.9% of the eligible population (5+) has been vaccinated with at least one dose.

– 208,465 people a day are receiving COVID-19 vaccination (average daily dose count over 7 days).

Cases

– California has 4,896,401 confirmed cases to date.

– Wednesday average case count is 5,499 (average daily case count over 7 days).

Testing

– The testing positivity rate is 2.3% (average rate over 7 days).

Hospitalizations

– There are 3,952 hospitalizations statewide.

– There are 956 ICU patients statewide.

Deaths

– There have been 74,794 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

– COVID-19 claims the lives of 48 Californians each day (average daily death count over 7 days).

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.

Health Care Workers

As of Dec. 9, local health departments have reported 131,821 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 531 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 Nov.28 to Dec. 4, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.0 day. During this same time period, 75% of patients received test results in one day and 97% received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

As of Dec. 13, there have been 740 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

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.

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.