Los Angeles County Department of Public Health officials announced 1,469 additional cases of coronavirus Thursday and 44 new deaths related to the virus, bringing the countywide totals to 59,650 and 2,531, respectively.
Of those who died in L.A. County: 27 were over the age of 65, 21 of whom had underlying conditions; 15 were between the ages of 41-64, and 12 had underlying conditions; and two were between the ages of 18-40.
Public Health officials said the large increase in positive cases reflects a lag in reporting from one lab of more than 500 positive cases.
As of Thursday, 6,767 people who tested positive for COVID-19, or 11% of positive cases, have been hospitalized at some point during their illness, and there are currently 1,457 people who are hospitalized, 30% of whom are in the ICU and 21% on ventilators, per Public Health.
Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital officials confirmed Wednesday that one person had died at the hospital due to complications related to COVID-19, bringing the total number of deaths within the SCV to 21. Due to patient privacy policy, the hospital declined to give any information about the newly reported deceased.
The hospital’s latest figures released Wednesday show that 1,824 patients had been tested — many of whom have been tested more than once — with 227 tests returning positive, 1,810 negative and 17 still pending, according to hospital spokesman Patrick Moody. A total of eight people remained in the hospital for treatment, and 84 had since recovered and been discharged.
In the Santa Clarita Valley, cases increased by 117 Thursday, bringing the total to at least 1,871.
However, a large percentage of those cases can be attributed to the Pitchess Detention Center, which has been experiencing an outbreak for a number of weeks and reportedly has a total of at least 1,371 inmates in all four of its jails that have tested positive for COVID-19, according to Public Health’s latest figures.
These numbers are expected to later be included in Castaic’s numbers, but due to reporting delays, numbers in a region’s count may not align with outbreak investigation counts presented for correctional facilities, Public Health officials said.
Public Health officials also confirmed Tuesday that the Pitchess Detention Center is in the midst of undergoing mass testing, which has caused a large discrepancy between Castaic’s numbers and those being reported at the jails.
The number of SCV cases, including all area health care providers’ daily figures and Pitchess Detention Center, totaled 1,871 Thursday, though figures are expected to be adjusted once the Pitchess numbers are correctly tallied. Currently, broken down by region, Public Health is reporting the numbers as follows:
City of Santa Clarita: 807
Unincorporated – Acton: 11
Unincorporated – Agua Dulce: 9
Unincorporated – Bouquet Canyon: 1
Unincorporated – Canyon Country: 36
Unincorporated – Castaic: 930 (majority of Castaic cases come from Pitchess Detention Center, exact number unavailable)
Unincorporated – Lake Hughes: 1
Unincorporated – Newhall: 1
Unincorporated – Placerita Canyon: 0
Unincorporated – San Francisquito Canyon/Bouquet Canyon: 0
Unincorporated – Sand Canyon: 0
Unincorporated – Saugus: 4
Unincorporated – Saugus/Canyon Country: 0
Unincorporated – Stevenson Ranch: 34
Unincorporated – Val Verde: 28
Unincorporated – Valencia: 9
To view all coronavirus-related stories, visit signalscv.com/category/news/coronavirus.
