Los Angeles County Department of Public Health officials Wednesday reported the highest single-day jump in coronavirus fatalities since the beginning of the pandemic, with 29 deaths occurring in the last 24 hours.
The news comes as an additional 620 positive coronavirus results are reported, bringing the total to 7,530 cases countywide and deaths to 198 in L.A. County, with at least 153 cases in the Santa Clarita Valley, according to Public Health officials.
Seventeen of those deaths were people over the age of 65, and 16 of those had underlying health conditions, while seven people were ages 41-65 and five of them had underlying health conditions, per Public Health. “One person was between the age of 18-40, and they also had underlying health conditions,” Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer added.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has reported that 25 employees have tested positive for COVID-19, along with 405 who are quarantined and 150 who have returned to work as of 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Since the start of the outbreak, a total of four inmates have tested positive for COVID-19, one who has fully recovered while the remaining three are still under medical observation in isolation, according to LASD officials. A total of 14 inmates are isolated, as they are exhibiting symptoms, and 372 are quarantined for being in close contact with a person currently under observation as of 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Health officials are continuing to urge the public to avoid going out this week and next, even for essentials, such as groceries, as many reports released identified that the U.S. is about to see the worst of the virus in the coming weeks.
“We will get back to many of our normal routines, but it will take significant time,” Ferrer said. “And please understand that we have weeks to go before we get before we’ll be able to lift any of our health officer orders.”
Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital has been reporting its own numbers locally since the start of the outbreak, and the hospital has reached a total of 58 positive cases as of Wednesday, according to spokesman Patrick Moody.
Though Kaiser Permanente, which has offices in the SCV, has started drive-up testing across Southern California, officials have said they will not be releasing reports of confirmed COVID-19 cases in order to protect patients’ confidential health information, instead deferring to the county’s Department of Public Health.
Henry Mayo has administered 378 tests, and of those, 305 returned negative, while 23 remain pending. There continues to be a disparity in those figures, as some patients are tested more than once, Moody said.
A total of 15 patients remained hospitalized at Henry Mayo due to COVID-19 as of Wednesday. The hospital still does not have information on the number of recovered patients, as many are discharged while still showing symptoms, Moody said.
The number of cases for the Santa Clarita Valley, broken down into region, were as follows, according to Public Health’s numbers as of Wednesday afternoon:
- City of Santa Clarita: 122
- Unincorporated – Acton: “–”
- Unincorporated – Agua Dulce: “–”
- Unincorporated – Canyon Country: 11
- Unincorporated – Castaic: 6
- Unincorporated – Lake Hughes: 0
- Unincorporated – Newhall: 0
- Unincorporated – Placerita Canyon: 0
- Unincorporated – Sand Canyon: 0
- Unincorporated – Saugus: “–”
- Unincorporated – Saugus/Canyon Country: 0
- Unincorporated – Stevenson Ranch: 10
- Unincorporated – Val Verde: 0
- Unincorporated – Valencia: “–”
Anywhere there is a “ – ” means they could have between one and four cases, according to county DPH officials.
This is done to protect patient privacy, and once these locations have five or more cases then they will be included, according to Public Health spokesman Bernard Tolliver. Locations that have zero will say “0.”
Previously, The Signal had not been including the “–” in the day’s final count, but since the “–” represents a value ranging from one to four, the count now reflects the more accurate number.
To view all coronavirus-related stories, visit signalscv.com/category/news/coronavirus.
