Los Angeles County surpassed 200,000 COVID-19 cases Thursday, as county Department of Public Health officials announced 3,290 new cases, bringing the overall total to 201,106.
In the Santa Clarita Valley, 68 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the last 24 hours, with 57 coming from the city of Santa Clarita, along with four in Acton, three in Saugus, and one each in Castaic, Stevenson Ranch, Val Verde and Valencia.
The high number of cases is in part due to a backlog from one lab, though figures continue to represent an undercount of countywide cases from possibly the past two weeks due to “significant issues with the state reported data,” according to Public Health officials.
“That’s why we have gone through and called all of the laboratories that are doing testing for our L.A. County residents and are trying to get that data from that time period through other means,” L.A. County Health Officer Dr. Muntu Davis said during Public Health’s Thursday briefing. “So we hope we can have a more accurate count by next week, but it may take us some time to go through and match all the data.”
As of Thursday, a total of 1,741 people were hospitalized, of which 29% were in the ICU. Hospitalization data remains unaffected by the undercount, and these figures have continued to steadily decrease since Public Health reported an average of 2,200 hospitalizations in mid-July.
In addition, Public Health reported 48 new deaths related to the virus for a total of 4,869 deaths countywide since the onset of the pandemic.
Of the 48 new deaths reported: 14 were over the age of 80, 10 of whom had underlying health conditions; 12 people were between the ages of 65 and 79, nine of whom had underlying health conditions; 14 were between the ages of 50 and 64, 13 of whom had underlying health conditions; and five were between the ages of 30 and 49, all of whom had underlying health conditions. The remaining deaths were reported by the cities of Long Beach and Pasadena, both of which have their own public health departments.
“In order to slow the spread of COVID-19 enough to be able to open our schools and get people back to work, we need to reduce non-essential activities that have us in close contact with people who aren’t in our households,” Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a prepared statement Thursday. “This includes not attending or hosting parties, not gathering in areas that are crowded and not participating in activities prohibited by the health officer orders. We cannot arrest or enforce our way out of this pandemic. Collectively we need to take those actions that the science tells us will work to slow the transmission: wear a face covering, maintain physical distance, wash hands frequently and avoid gatherings with those not in your household.”
SCV case breakdown
As of Wednesday, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital has conducted 5,570 tests since the onset of the pandemic. Of those individuals tested — many of whom are tested more than once — 682 returned positive, 6,122 were negative and 176 remain outstanding, according to hospital spokesman Patrick Moody.
A total of 202 people have recovered and returned home, while 13 remained in the hospital Wednesday, a drop of five since Saturday. The hospital has had a total of 20 COVID-19-related deaths, while the overall SCV total has reached 48, according to Public Health’s latest figures.
The number of SCV cases, including all area health care providers’ daily figures and those at Pitchess Detention Center, totaled 4,592 Thursday, broken down into region, are as follows:
City of Santa Clarita: 2,331
Unincorporated – Acton: 50
Unincorporated – Agua Dulce: 20
Unincorporated – Bouquet Canyon: 2
Unincorporated – Canyon Country: 86
Unincorporated – Castaic: 1,866 (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: 18
Unincorporated – Saugus/Canyon Country: 1
Unincorporated – Stevenson Ranch: 122
Unincorporated – Val Verde: 47
Unincorporated – Valencia: 37
To view all coronavirus-related stories, visit signalscv.com/category/news/coronavirus.
