The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Wednesday 11 new deaths, 973 new positive cases countywide, with 32 new cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

This new data brings Los Angeles County death totals to 31,830, county case totals to 2,848,030 and Santa Clarita Valley case totals to 72,631 since March of 2020. There are 256 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized.

Of the 11 new deaths reported today, two people were between the ages of 50-64, four people were between the ages of 65-79, and five people were aged 80 years or older. Of the 11 newly reported deaths, 10 people had underlying health conditions.

Public Health has reported a total of 2,848,030 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Today’s positivity rate is 1.3%.

Testing results are available for more than 11,765,800 individuals, with 22% of people testing positive.

TK-12 School See Small Increase In Cases

With a relaxing of masking mandates at schools and increased circulation of the more infectious BA.2 subvariant, there were small increases in cases and outbreaks at TK-12 schools in LA County.

For the week ending April 8, there were 822 positive tests among the 443,000 tests administered, resulting in a positivity rate of 0.19%. Positive tests increased by 42% from the week prior when there were 577 positive tests among the 433,000 tests administered for the week ending April 1.

School-associated outbreaks nearly doubled in one month. For the week ending April 9, there were 11 new school-associated outbreaks, (seven in elementary schools, one in a middle school, three in high schools). This is nearly double when compared to the number of new outbreaks one month ago when there were six new school-associated outbreaks for the week ending March 12. It is important to note that many schools have been closed these past two weeks for spring break.

To help promote safety at schools, Public Health is working with partners to ensure easy access to COVID-19 vaccines at schools, with over 240 school-based vaccine clinics scheduled this week and next week. More than 400 additional school-based vaccine clinics are scheduled during the remainder of April. School vaccine clinics offer pediatric doses for those 5-11 years of age, as well as vaccines and boosters for eligible individuals 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 children in school and other activities.

Safety at schools is enhanced when everyone continues following sensible safety measures. Public Health strongly recommends students and staff wear masks indoors, as mask wearing is highly effective at reducing spread inside classrooms. Note that schools are required to offer medical masks and respirators to school employees who work indoors and are in contact with others.

Schools should also conduct response testing of persons with an exposure and/or for those who have symptoms. Those who test positive are required to isolate need a negative test to return to school for shortened isolation periods. Exposed, asymptomatic students remaining in school during their 10-day quarantine period should be masked whenever indoors and tested as soon after the exposure as possible. Where resources allow, those students unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated should be tested weekly.

“I send my deepest sympathies and wishes of peace and comfort to the many families who have lost a loved one from COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “With the highly infectious BA.2 subvariant circulating and residents traveling and gathering for Spring Break and Spring holidays, there is increased risk of virus transmission. There are also tools at hand that can mitigate the increased risks: masking indoors can reduce transmission; testing regularly or quickly after developing symptoms or being exposed can help identify those infected; making it easy to access vaccines and boosters improves community level protection; and, following all COVID isolation and quarantine protocols for those who test positive or are exposed helps break the chain of transmission.   If we take sensible safety measures, we each have an ability to better protect ourselves and others from becoming infected with this more easily transmissible variant, BA.2”

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

Santa Clarita Valley Wednesday Update
As of 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard reported no new deaths from COVID-19 in the Santa Clarita Valley, leaving the total number of deaths in the SCV since the onset of the pandemic at 464.

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

Santa Clarita: 379

Castaic: 28

Acton: 17

Stevenson Ranch: 15

Unincorporated Canyon Country: 9 (revised from 10)

Agua Dulce: 6

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 72,599 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 53,963

* Castaic:7,127

Stevenson Ranch: 4,050

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 2,594

Acton: 1,518

Val Verde: 839

Agua Dulce: 779

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 674

Saugus (unincorporated portion):  311

Elizabeth Lake: 206

Bouquet Canyon: 149

Lake Hughes: 147

Saugus/Canyon Country: 90

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

California Department of Public Health now updates their numbers on Tuesday and Friday. Due to a data processing issue, the California Department of Public Health is held Tuesday’s regularly scheduled update on COVID-19 data. Wednesday’s Update is as follows:

Statewide COVID-19 Data

Vaccinations

– 73,669,038 total vaccines administered.

– 83.9% of the eligible population (5+) has been vaccinated with at least one dose.

– 55,964 people a day are receiving COVID-19 vaccination (average daily dose count over 7 days).

Cases

– California has 8,529,333 confirmed cases to date.

– Friday’s average case count is 2,330 (average daily case count over 7 days).

– Unvaccinated people are 3.6 times more likely to get COVID-19 than boosted individuals (March 14, 2022 – March 20, 2022).

Testing

– The testing positivity rate is 1.7% (average rate over 7 days).

Hospitalizations

– There are 1,040 hospitalizations statewide.

– here are 156 ICU patients statewide.

– Unvaccinated people are 6.5 times more likely to be hospitalized than boosted individuals (March 14, 2022 – March 20, 2022).

Deaths

– There have been 88,748 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

– COVID-19 claims the lives of 25 Californians each day (average daily death count over 7 days).

– Unvaccinated people are 13.7 times more likely to die than boosted individuals (March 7, 2022 – March 13, 2022).

Health Care Workers

As of April 7, local health departments have reported 154,509 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 577 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 27 to April 2, the average time patients waited for test results was 0.7 day. During this same time period, 92% of patients received test results in one day and 98% received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

As of April 12, there have been 922 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.