The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Thursday 53 new cases and two new deaths from COVID-19 in the Santa Clarita Valley within the last week.

Public Health is now reporting COVID-19 data every Thursday. This is the most recent data from May 25.

This new data brings Los Angeles County death totals to 36,338, case totals to 3,745,379 and Santa Clarita Valley case totals to 99,532 since March of 2020. SCV deaths from COVID-19 rise at 559.

Data Reflects Ongoing Inequities with COVID-19

Although overall COVID-19 transmission remains low in Los Angeles County, local data reveals the continued disproportionate impact of the disease, primarily in communities with higher poverty and among people of color, highlighting the need for targeted COVID-19 prevention and mitigation strategies that can address the gaps.

This disproportionality in case, hospitalization, and death rates, which are highest in neighborhoods with greater poverty and among Black and Brown residents, is the likely result of increased exposures to the COVID-19 virus, less access to the resources needed for good health, overcrowding, often combined with poor ventilation, in homes and at worksites, and differences in health status.

In areas of Los Angeles County where more than 30% of households live at or below the federal poverty line, COVID-19 hospitalization rates are nearly two-and-a-half times greater than in neighborhoods with less than 10% of households living in poverty and death rates are nearly three times higher comparatively in these same areas.

COVID-19 cumulative hospitalization rates among Black and Latinx residents in Los Angeles County are two times as high as among white residents. Deaths rates due to COVID-19 are nearly two-and-a-half times higher for Latinx residents and one-and-a-half times higher for Black residents compared to white residents.

To reduce the adverse health outcomes associated with COVID-19, Public Health and community partners can focus preparedness and mitigation efforts that ensure access to life-saving tools and improve the conditions in places where we work, learn or live.

It is important for residents to continue to utilize the COVID-19 resources available, including the bivalent vaccine, testing and treatment. However, investments in community-level infection control, including compliance with outbreak reporting and changes to work and learning environments, also reduce spread and impact of COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses.

Increasing indoor air movement can help reduce the spread of disease. Those in charge of worksites, schools, and residential buildings should aim for a ventilation system that results in a total changeover of air at least five times an hour and use filters with Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) 13, according to recent updated recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Details and resources can be found in the ‘ventilation’ section of ph.lacounty.gov/COVIDbusiness.

Simple actions can also help to improve ventilation, including opening windows when the weather allows, using fans, and adjusting settings on home heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems so that air does not recirculate.

As part of long-standing efforts to reduce risks associated with infectious diseases, including the transmission of COVID-19 in the community, Public Health continues to require businesses and facilities to report clusters of COVID-19 cases to Public Health. This serves as a vital alert that allows for early and effective intervention by Public Health outbreak investigators, reducing disruptions and transmission at sites.

In workplaces, educational settings, and residential congregate settings, such as shelters and correctional facilities, Public Health must be notified of all clusters of at least three linked cases occurring within 14 days. For workplaces and residential congregate settings with over 100 workers or residents, facilities must also report if 5% of workers or residents test positive, even if those cases are unlinked. All reporting must take place within 24 hours of when a facility knows that their cases have met Public Health’s reporting threshold. Case clusters can be reported to Public Health at 1-888-397-3993 or online at redcap.link/covidreport.

The most recent sequencing data shows XBB.1.5 remains the dominant strain in Los Angeles County, accounting for 78% of sequenced specimens for the two week period ending April 29, 2023. The second most dominant strains were XBB.1.9.1, XBB.1.16, and XBB.2.3, each accounting for 4% of sequenced specimens. Data modeling from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that as of May 13 in California and surrounding states, XBB.1.5 remains the dominant strain while XBB.1.16 makes up 12% and XBB.1.9.1 accounts for about 10% of cases.

The CDC has replaced COVID-19 Community Levels with Hospital Admission Levels, which can help individuals and communities decide which prevention actions they can take based on the most recent information. Los Angeles County is in the Low Hospital Admission Level with 2.6 New COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 people.

The 7-day average number of COVID hospitalizations is 190 this week. Reported weekly deaths increased to 35 deaths reported this week.

Vaccines remain one of the best tools individuals can use to protect themselves from severe illness, hospitalization and death from COVID-19. Vaccines remain free and easily accessible in Los Angeles County. Everyone ages six months and older should have at least one dose of the bivalent COVID-19 vaccine which provides substantial protection against newer Omicron strains. Residents can visit VaccinateLACounty.com or VacunateLosAngeles.com (en español) to find a vaccination location near them.

For residents who have difficulties leaving their home, Public Health offers free in-home COVID-19 vaccine and booster appointments. Appointments may be booked at ph.lacounty.gov/vaxathome, ph.lacounty.gov/vacunacionencasa (en español) or by calling the Public Health COVID-19 Call Center at 1-833-540-0473.

Public Health’s Call Center also connects eligible residents to free telehealth to get COVID-19 medications, information, and other resources. Residents are encouraged to call 1-833-540-0473, available daily between 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., to access these services.

This week’s sequencing data shows XBB.1.5 remains the dominant strain in Los Angeles County, accounting for 81% of sequenced specimens for the week ending April 22. The second most dominant strains were XBB.1.9.1 and XBB.1.16, each accounting for 5% of sequenced specimens. L.A. County has had 19 confirmed cases of XBB.1.16 and data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that XBB.1.16 makes up 12% of cases in California and surrounding states.

The 7-day average number of COVID hospitalizations is 222 this week. Reported weekly deaths dropped to 20 deaths reported this week, which may reflect a data reporting issue.

Public Health is now reporting COVID-19 data weekly. The following table shows the weekly reported case counts, average number of daily hospitalizations and weekly reported death counts in Los Angeles County over the past four weeks.

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 including:

COVID-19 Locations & Demographics (data by demographic characteristics and geography, active outbreaks, and citations)

 – COVID-19 Response Plan

 – COVID-19 Vaccinations

 – Skilled Nursing Facility Metrics

Always check with trusted sources for the latest accurate information about novel coronavirus:

 – Los Angeles County Department of Public Health: http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/

– California Department of Public Health: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/Immunization/nCOV2019.aspx

– Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

– CDC Spanishhttps://espanol.cdc.gov/enes/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

– World Health Organization https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus

– LA County residents can also call 2-1-1

William S. Hart Union High School District COVID-19 Dashboard

Since the State of Emergency has been lifted, the William S. Hart Union High School District will no longer be posting dashboard information.

Santa Clarita Valley Thursday Update

As of 3 p.m. Thursday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard reported one additional death from COVID-19 in the city of Santa Clarita and one new death in Agua Dulce, bringing the total number of deaths in the SCV at 559.

NOTE: As of Dec. 20, 2022, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health switched to a new geocoding process to improve the accuracy and completeness of geocoded data. Geocoding is the process of assigning an address to specific geographic coordinates (latitude/longitude). As a result, approximately 1,500 cases (0.04%) were removed from the cumulative count as they were determined to be out of jurisdiction with the improved geocoding. The switch to this improved process also resulted in minor changes to cumulative case/death counts by Supervisor District, Service Planning Area, city/community, and area poverty categories.

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

Santa Clarita: 456

Castaic: 30 (revised from 33)

Acton: 18 (revised from 19)

Stevenson Ranch: 18

Unincorporated Canyon Country: 11

Agua Dulce: 8

Val Verde: 6

Elizabeth Lake: 4

Lake Hughes: 2

Valencia: 2

Unincorporated Bouquet Canyon: 2

Newhall: 1

Unincorporated Saugus/Canyon Country: 1

SCV Cases

Of the 99,532 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

Santa Clarita: 73,562

Castaic: 9,625

Stevenson Ranch: 5,994

Canyon Country: 3,768

Acton: 2,015

Val Verde: 1,223

Agua Dulce: 995

Valencia: 935

Saugus: 346

Elizabeth Lake: 288

Bouquet Canyon: 207

Lake Hughes: 203

Saugus/Canyon Country: 135

Newhall: 105

Sand Canyon: 63

San Francisquito: 44

Placerita Canyon: 24

*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 Thursday By the Numbers

With the recent end of the California COVID-19 State of Emergency, CDPH will sunset weekly COVID-19 data news releases. All data will continue to be updated regularly on the state’s COVID-19 data dashboard on Thursdays.​

As of May 25, 2023, California has confirmed a total of 101,964 COVID-19 deaths.

Vaccines Administered updated May 25, at 9:36 a.m., with data from May 24.
Deaths and Tests updated May 25, at 9:36 a.m., with data from May 23.

For more California data, click [here].