As Los Angeles County prepares a plan to reopen, Public Health Department officials reported Monday that the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases countywide surpassed 26,000, which included a spike of 29 new diagnoses in Val Verde.
The total number of confirmed cases reached 26,217 after officials announced 568 new cases and a combined 1,846 new diagnoses from Saturday and Sunday. Figures on Mondays are typically lower than other days in the week due to “very little testing” conducted over the weekend, said Barbara Ferrer, director of Public Health.
In the Santa Clarita Valley, 29 of the 33 new cases came from Val Verde, according to Public Health’s report on Monday, which brought the total count in the valley to 580. There were a combined 51 new diagnoses over the weekend.
Val Verde’s count reached at least 92 confirmed cases Monday after a tally of 63 on Sunday. Figures for this area have continuously spiked over the past recent days, with its second-highest spike on April 27, from seven to 34 in just 24 hours.
Public Health officials have not responded to requests for comment on the reason behind an increase in cases. Santa Clarita Mayor Cameron Smyth said last week the April 27 increase was “clearly a result of a backlog in reporting.”
The countywide death toll reached 1,256 after 28 new deaths related to COVID-19 were reported Monday, which followed 32 others from weekend reports.
Of all deaths, 93% of individuals had underlying health conditions, a reminder for those with underlying health conditions, such as asthma, cancer or other conditions that may affect one’s immune system, to stay home and avoid contact with others in public, said Ferrer.
With the increase in confirmed cases comes a rise in testing for the novel coronavirus. The county has, thus far, conducted nearly 200,000 tests and 13% have returned positive, said Ferrer. As of Friday, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital had conducted 769 tests, of which 149 were positive.
“If you’re looking to get tested there are appointments that are available at the regional testing sites. You can find the testing sites and make an appointment online at covid19.lacounty.gov/testing,” said Ferrer.
Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital is expected to release its latest tally on Wednesday. On Saturday, hospital officials announced they would transition from daily to weekly updates on their specific numbers, citing relatively stable figures. Unless there is a spike or major change, updates will be reported on Wednesdays, according to spokesman Patrick Moody.
The number of cases for the SCV reported by Public Health still includes Henry Mayo and other area health care providers’ daily figures, and those numbers, broken down into region, were as follows as of Monday afternoon:
- City of Santa Clarita: 405
- Unincorporated – Acton: 8
- Unincorporated – Agua Dulce: 1
- Unincorporated – Bouquet Canyon: 0
- Unincorporated – Canyon Country: 26
- Unincorporated – Castaic: 22
- Unincorporated – Lake Hughes: 0
- Unincorporated – Newhall: 0
- Unincorporated – Placerita Canyon: 0
- Unincorporated – San Francisquito Canyon/Bouquet Canyon: 0
- Unincorporated – Sand Canyon: 0
- Unincorporated – Saugus: 3
- Unincorporated – Saugus/Canyon Country: 0
- Unincorporated – Stevenson Ranch: 18
- Unincorporated – Val Verde: 92
- Unincorporated – Valencia: 5
To view all coronavirus-related stories, visit signalscv.com/category/news/coronavirus.
