SCVNews.com | Friday COVID-19 Roundup: L.A. County Exceeds 500,000 Cases; 47th Death at Henry Mayo

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed on Friday 50 new deaths and 13,815 new cases of COVID-19 as Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital reported its 47th death.

Friday’s number of new cases surpassed yesterday’s high of 12,819 new COVID-19 cases and was the third time within the last six days that daily new cases topped 10,000 countywide.

L.A. County continues to experience a high number of new deaths and more new cases reported each day for COVID-19 than at any point during the pandemic.

The Santa Clarita Valley has now tallied 11,755 confirmed COVID-19 cases among residents – 248 more new cases than Thursday – and deaths remain at 85 since the pandemic began, according to the latest Public Health data, which does not yet include six additional deaths reported by Henry Mayo this week.

Countywide, of the 3,624 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized, 23% of them are in the ICU.

The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 continues to exceed all-time highs every day since December 1 and has increased nearly every day since November 1.

The number of people hospitalized has doubled in just 15 days.

The impact of the Thanksgiving surge of cases on top of already rising cases is creating extraordinary stress on our healthcare system. When we see increases in cases, we see increases in hospitalizations about two weeks later.

In two weeks, there could be more than 7,300 daily hospitalizations for COVID-19 and more than 1,600 patients in the ICU.

This is alarming given that there are only 2,100 adult ICU beds across County hospitals and many of these beds are essential for patients that need intensive care for other illnesses including trauma, cardiac surgeries, serious infections, and cancer treatments.

To date, Public Health has counted 8,199 confirmed COVID-19 deaths and 501,635 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Upon further investigation, 97 cases reported earlier were not county residents.

“These numbers are overwhelming. The grief that our community continues to experience cannot be comprehended, and my deepest sympathies go out to everyone who is mourning,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health.

“We cannot undo what has already been done and collectively, we are going to pay a very high price for the actions we took in the past,” said Ferrer. “What we can do and what everyone across the county needs to do right now is to stay at home as much as possible, and limit going out to what is essential: work, school, childcare, exercise and obtaining necessary goods and services.”

“The best way to protect our essential workers, including healthcare workers, who have to serve and be with others, is to always follow the rules when you are with or around those not in your family: we need everyone to wear a face covering and keep physical distance from anyone they do not live with,” she said. “Make the choice today and every day through December that you will protect yourself, you will protect your friends and loved ones, and you will protect the friends and loved ones of other people. Our actions prevent terrible suffering and save lives.”

California Friday Snapshot

Statewide, as of Thursday, December 10, the California Department of Public Health confirmed a total of 1,485,703 COVID-19 cases (up 35,468), with 20,622 deaths from the disease (up 159) since the pandemic began.

There are 12,013 confirmed hospitalizations and 2,669 ICU hospitalizations in the state, continuing a very sharp upward trend.

Numbers do not represent true day-over-day change as these results include cases from prior to yesterday.

See more California information later in this report.

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital Friday Update

With one new death reported Friday, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital’s death total is up to 47, according to spokesman Patrick Moody.

As of Friday, December 11, of the 13,483 people tested at Henry Mayo to date, 1,679 tested positive, 16,306 were negative, 6 were pending, 71 patients were hospitalized in a dedicated unit receiving ICU-level care and a total of 473 COVID-19 patients have been treated and discharged so far, Moody said.

Discrepancies in the testing numbers at the hospital are due to some patients being tested multiple times.

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 is generally 48 hours behind.

Henry Mayo releases complete statistics weekly, usually on Wednesdays, unless a new death occurs, Moody said.

Santa Clarita Valley Friday Update

As of 8 p.m. Wednesday, December 9, the latest update to the L.A. County Public Health COVID-19 data dashboard, 85 deaths had been reported among Santa Clarita Valley residents since the pandemic began.

The data dashboard did not yet list the six deaths at Henry Mayo this week.

Of the 91 SCV residents who have died, 70 lived in Santa Clarita, 5 in Castaic, 3 in Acton, 3 in Stevenson Ranch, 1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon, 2 in unincorporated Canyon Country, 1 in Val Verde, and 6 in communities not yet named.

Of the 11,507 confirmed COVID-19 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 7,648

Castaic: 2,537 (includes Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility*)

Stevenson Ranch: 384

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 322

Val Verde: 133

Acton: 157

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 73

Agua Dulce: 72

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 57

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 40

Elizabeth Lake: 22

Saugus/Canyon Country: 18

Bouquet Canyon: 16

Lake Hughes: 17

Sand Canyon: 7

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 4

*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 Planning Vaccination Efforts

Los Angeles County has planned initial vaccination efforts for when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorizes or approves one or more COVID-19 vaccines.

Because the vaccines will be a limited supply, the focus will be to vaccinate health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities, in alignment with the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. We are expecting an initial allocation of approximately 83,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, with expected delivery early next week.

This will hopefully be followed by two additional allocations of vaccines in December, followed by weekly allocations thereafter in the new year.

The initial allocation will be sent to nine sites across the county with ultracold freezers, a requirement for the Pfizer vaccine.

The vaccine will then be distributed to 83 acute care hospitals across the county and administered to healthcare workers prioritized based on risk. Long-term care facility residents and staff will receive the vaccine from CVS and Walgreen pharmacies, through a federal partnership program.

Additional phases of vaccination distribution will focus on essential workers and high-risk groups as prioritized by CDC, including seniors and those with chronic health conditions.

Planning for these phases is occurring in close coordination with the CDC, state health department, the local health care community, and many other community partners.

Over time, as more vaccine is available it will be offered to everyone. This will likely take months and may not be widely available to the general public until Spring/Summer 2021.

It is extremely important to continue to take steps to reduce your risk of getting COVID-19 or giving it to others while we wait for a vaccine and even after a vaccine is available.

Stay home and avoid non-essential activities. Always cover your mouth and nose with a face covering when around others, practice physical distancing and wash your hands often.

Individuals with underlying health conditions and those that are older should remain in their home and not be around others unless seeking routine or essential health and dental care. If you are having difficulty breathing, go to an emergency room or call 911.

More L.A. County Demographics: Age

Of the 50 new deaths reported Friday, 18 people who died were over the age of 80 years old, 18 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, 10 people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, two people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49 years old and one child under the age of 18 years old.

Forty-one people who died had underlying health conditions including 25 people over the age of 80 years old, 24 people between the ages of 65 and 79 years old, 10 people between the ages of 50 and 64 years old, one person between the ages of 30 and 49 years old, and one child under the age of 18 years old.

Ninety-three percent of the people who have died from COVID-19 to date had underlying health conditions. Hypertension, high cholesterol, obesity, and diabetes are the most common underlying health conditions among people hospitalized with COVID-19. Many people have multiple underlying health conditions.

Cases by Age Group (Los Angeles County only — excluding Long Beach and Pasadena)
Young people are driving the surge of the virus’s spread with disastrous results for our elderly.

In the last month, the case rate for residents age 18 to 29 years old has more than doubled, from 11.5 cases per 100,000 people to 25 cases per 100,000 people.

The second-highest group, residents ages 30 through 49 years old, has nearly doubled from 9.4 cases to 18 cases per 100,000 people.

* 0 to 4 8952

* 5 to 11 20270

* 12 to 17 24944

* 18 to 29 118871

* 30 to 49 162790

* 50 to 64 89673

* 65 to 79 34526

* over 80 13818

* Under Investigation 3167

Certain Communities Affected More Than Others

As L.A. County has experienced significant increases in cases over the last few weeks, certain communities continue to experience the burden of transmission of the virus more than others. San Gabriel Valley and South Los Angeles County have the majority of communities that have experienced the highest rate increases.

The communities in L.A. County that are seeing the largest increases in cases during this surge are the City of Rosemead, Century Palms/Cove area and Lennox area and all experienced case rate increases of over 400%.

Our community health workers focus their efforts in these communities as well as communities that have had high case rates throughout the pandemic. They provide information about how COVID-19 can spread and connect residents to essential resources.

If you live or work in these communities, please know that many more people around you may now be infected. With much higher rates of virus transmission, it is critically important to stay at home as much as possible and if going out, please always keep distance of at least 6 feet and wear a face-covering whenever you are around people not from your household.

In order to protect our essential workers, everyone should follow all the safety directives when visiting stores and businesses or utilizing essential services.

As the pandemic continues, many people are experiencing a great deal of stress and difficulty. If you are feeling overwhelmed, please know that help is available. The Department of Mental Health’s Help Line operates 24 hours a day 7 days a week. They can provide you with referrals for mental health and wellness services. Also, from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. daily, you can access the Emotional Support Warm Line with Trained Active Listeners to talk to. The phone number to access all these services is (800) 854-7771.

More L.A. County Demographics: Race/Ethnicity

Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 7,746 people (99 percent of the cases reported by Public Health); 52 percent of deaths occurred among Latino/Latinx residents, 23 percent among White residents, 14 percent among Asian residents, 9 percent among African American/Black residents, less than 1 percent among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander residents and 1 percent among residents identifying with other races.

L.A. County Public Health’s Reopening Protocols, COVID-19 Surveillance Interactive Dashboard, Roadmap to Recovery, Recovery Dashboard, and additional things you can do to protect yourself, your family and your community are on the Public Health website, www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

Screencap from the Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering COVID-19 dashboard, showing COVID cases in the United States as of Friday afternoon, December 11, 2020.

COVID Worldwide: Infection Cases Surpass 70 Million; U.S. Deaths Fast Approaching 300K

Worldwide, 70,000538 people have been infected by COVID-19 while 1,589,964 people have died of the virus as of 12:26 p.m. Friday Pacific Time, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

In the U.S., more than 15,746,026 Americans have been diagnosed with COVID-19. New cases and hospitalizations continue at all-time record highs. The number of people in the U.S. who have died due to the virus has now reached 293,785.

With 4.25% of the world’s population (328.2 million) and more than 20% of the confirmed COVID-19 cases, the U.S. also continues to lead the world in deaths.

By comparison, Brazil (population 209.5 million) is No. 2 in deaths with 179,765, and No. 3 in cases with 6,781,799. India (population 1.353 billion) is No. 2 in cases, with 9,796,769 confirmed cases and 142,186 deaths as of Friday afternoon.

California Regional Stay Home Order

The Regional Stay Home Order announced December 3 and a supplemental order signed December 6 will go into effect at 11:59 p.m. the day after a region has been announced to have less than 15 percent ICU availability.

The supplemental order clarifies retail operations and goes into effect immediately. They prohibit private gatherings of any size, close sector operations except for critical infrastructure and retail, and require 100 percent masking and physical distancing in all others.

Once triggered, these orders will remain in effect for at least 3 weeks. After that period, they will be lifted when a region’s projected ICU capacity meets or exceeds 15 percent. This will be assessed on a weekly basis after the initial three-week period.

Based on ICU data, two regions, San Joaquin Valley and Southern California, at 6.3 percent and 10.9 percent, respectively, are under the Regional Stay Home Order as of Monday, December 7. These regions will be eligible to exit from the order and return to the Blueprint for a Safer Economy on December 28 if ICU capacity projections for the following month are above or equal to 15%.

Learn more about these orders.

California Blueprint for a Safer Economy

Governor Gavin Newsom’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy imposes risk-based criteria on tightening and loosening COVID-19 allowable activities and expands the length of time between changes to assess how any movement affects the trajectory of the disease.

Californians can go to covid19.ca.gov to find out where their county falls and what activities are allowable in each county.

California Testing
More than 85 community testing sites offer free, confidential testing: Find a COVID-19 Testing Site.

The testing turnaround dashboard reports how long California patients are waiting for COVID-19 test results. California has worked to reduce testing turnaround times in recent weeks to help curb the spread of the virus.

During the week of November 22 to November 28, the average time patients waited for test results was 1.7 days. During this same time period, 51 percent of patients received test results in 1 day and 78 percent received them within 2 days. The testing turnaround time dashboard (PDF) is updated weekly.

All four tiers in the Testing Prioritization Guidance originally dated July 14, 2020, will have equal priority for testing.

California Demographics

Overall, for adults 18 and older, Latinos, African Americans and Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are dying at disproportionately higher levels.

The proportion of COVID-19 deaths in African Americans is more than one-and-a-half times their population representation across all adult age categories. For Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, overall numbers are low, but almost double between the proportion of COVID-19 deaths and their population representation.

More males are dying from COVID-19 than females, in line with national trends.

More information is available at COVID-19 Race and Ethnicity Data.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

To date, Public Health has confirmed 45 children with MIS-C in L.A. County. All were hospitalized and 50 percent of the children were treated in the ICU.

Of the children with MIS-C, 27 percent were under the age of 5 years old, 38 percent were between the ages of 5 and 11 years old, and 35 percent were between the ages of 12 and 20 years old. Latino/Latinx children account for 73 percent of the reported cases.

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.

Parents should be aware of the signs and symptoms of MIS-C including fever that does not go away, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, neck pain, rash, bloodshot eyes or feeling tired.

If you believe your child is displaying MIS-C symptoms, contact your primary care provider. If you do not have a primary care provider, dial 2-1-1 and L.A. County will help connect you to one.

Protect Yourself and Your Family

California is experiencing the fastest increase in cases we have seen yet – faster than what we experienced at the outset of the pandemic and this summer. If COVID-19 continues to spread at this rate, it could quickly overwhelm our health care system and lead to catastrophic outcomes.

Protect yourself, family, friends, and community by following these prevention measures:

* Staying home except for essential needs/activities following local and state public health guidelines when patronizing approved businesses. To the extent that sectors are re-opened, Californians may leave their homes to work at, patronize, or otherwise engage with those businesses, establishments or activities.

* Following the limited Stay at Home Order that requires all non-essential work and activities to stop between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. in counties in the purple tier. The order took effect at 10 p.m. Saturday, November 21, and will remain in effect until 5 a.m. December 21.

* Staying close to home, avoiding non-essential travel, and practicing self-quarantine for 14 days after arrival if you leave the state.

* Keeping gatherings small, short, and outdoors and limiting them to those who live in your household.

* Wearing a cloth face mask when out in public

* Washing hands with soap and water for a minimum of 20 seconds

* Avoiding touching eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands

* Covering a cough or sneeze with your sleeve or disposable tissue. Wash your hands afterward

* Avoiding close contact with people who are sick

* Staying away from work, school, or other people if you become sick with respiratory symptoms like fever and cough

* Following guidance from public health officials

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.

It’s important if someone thinks they could be positive for COVID-19 and are awaiting testing results to stay at home and act as if they are positive. This means self-isolating for 10 days and 72 hours after symptoms and fever subside.

If a person tests positive for COVID-19, they should plan on receiving a call from a public health specialist to discuss how to protect themselves and others, find out where they may have been, and who they were in close contact with while infectious.

California COVID-19 Data and Tools

A wide range of data and analysis guides California’s response to COVID-19. The state is making the data and its analytical tools available to researchers, scientists and the public at covid19.ca.gov.

* The Statewide COVID-19 Dashboard

* The California COVID-19 Assessment Tool (CalCAT)

* State Cases and Deaths Associated with COVID-19 by Age Group

* COVID-19 Race & Ethnicity Data

* COVID-19 Hospital Data and Case Statistics

* View additional datasets at the California Open Data Portal (including Testing Data, PPE Logistics Data, Hospital Data, Homeless Impact and more)

Consolidated guidance is available on the California Department of Public Health’s Guidance webpage.

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Always check with trusted sources for the latest accurate information about novel coronavirus (COVID-19):

* Los Angeles County Department of Public Health

* California Department of Public Health

* Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

* Spanish

* World Health Organization

* Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 Dashboard

L.A. County residents can also call 2-1-1.

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