Ferrer ‘cautiously optimistic’ as daily COVID-19 cases drop below 2K

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Los Angeles County Department of Public Health officials announced 1,920 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the countywide total to 210,424, as Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer says the county remains cautiously optimistic.

“We remain cautiously optimistic that our recent efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 are working,” Ferrer said, “and I have to emphasize the word ‘cautiously’ because although our data is showing signs of stability, everyone knows we do have a delay in getting accurate reporting from our labs, so we’ll stay in the cautious space until we actually see our numbers for the past two weeks.” 

Even so, Ferrer said Public Health officials believe Monday’s figures are a “fairly accurate count of positive test results,” though they have yet to receive and process all of the backlog. 

Over the weekend, Public Health reported 72 new cases of COVID-19 in the Santa Clarita Valley, with 42 on Saturday and 30 on Sunday, followed by 57 new cases reported Monday, bringing the local total to 4,773. 

Last week, L.A. County averaged less than 1,900 COVID-19 patients hospitalized per day, with 1,514 confirmed COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized on Monday, of whom 31% are in the ICU and 18% are on ventilators, Ferrer said. These are figures that have continued to decline since the highs of 2,200 hospitalized in mid-July.

On Monday, L.A. County saw 19 new deaths related to COVID-19, for a total of 4,996 since the start of the pandemic.

Like hospitalizations, the death rate has also continued to decline, with L.A. County now representing less than half of all deaths in California, per Public Health.

Of the 19 new deaths reported Monday: five were over the age of 80, four of whom had underlying health conditions; seven were between the ages of 65 and 79, six of whom had underlying health conditions; five were between the ages of 50 and 64, four of whom had underlying health conditions; and two were between the ages of 30 and 49, both of whom had underlying health conditions. 

“Ninety-two percent of the people who have died from COVID-19 did have underlying health conditions, but with a number as big as almost 5,000 deaths, that means that there were hundreds of people who did not, so everyone needs to take care of themselves and all of the people they interact with,” Ferrer added.

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital officials reported Friday 5,697 tests have been conducted since the onset of the pandemic. Of those individuals tested — many of whom are tested more than once — 700 returned positive, 6,356 were negative and 106 remain outstanding, according to hospital spokesman Patrick Moody. 

A total of 206 people have recovered and returned home, while nine remained in the hospital Friday, a decrease of four since Wednesday. Moody reported one additional COVID-19-related death, which brought the total to 21 at the hospital and 51 across the SCV after Public Health reported a total of three new deaths Friday. 

The number of SCV cases, including all area health care providers’ daily figures and those at Pitchess Detention Center, totaled 4,773 Monday, broken down into region, are as follows: 

City of Santa Clarita: 2,479
Unincorporated – Acton: 54
Unincorporated – Agua Dulce: 21
Unincorporated – Bouquet Canyon: 4
Unincorporated – Canyon Country: 96
Unincorporated – Castaic: 1,871 (majority of Castaic cases come from Pitchess Detention Center, exact number unavailable)
Unincorporated – Lake Hughes: 1
Unincorporated – Newhall: 6
Unincorporated – Placerita Canyon: 0
Unincorporated – San Francisquito Canyon/Bouquet Canyon: 0
Unincorporated – Sand Canyon: 5
Unincorporated – Saugus: 20
Unincorporated – Saugus/Canyon Country: 1
Unincorporated – Stevenson Ranch: 128
Unincorporated – Val Verde: 49
Unincorporated – Valencia: 38

To view all coronavirus-related stories, visit signalscv.com/category/news/coronavirus.

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