Los Angeles County officials are continuing to remind residents of public health guidelines as Labor Day weekend approaches, announcing 1,457 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday, bringing the overall total to 243,935.
The county Department of Public Health also reported 51 additional deaths related to the virus, bringing the countywide death toll to 5,878.
This comes as county officials announced a modified health officer order set to go into effect Wednesday, allowing hair salons and barbershops to move indoors at 25% capacity, in line with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new, four-tiered blueprint for reopening framework.
“Right now, a cautious and measured reopening, with close monitoring of what happens to our data in the weeks that follow, is needed to ensure we’re not experiencing significant spikes in cases, hospitalizations and deaths, as we saw in July after reopenings and holidays,” L.A. County Health Officer Dr. Muntu Davis said during Public Health’s Wednesday briefing. “The virus is widespread in our community, (and) the improvements we see do not mean victory. … This Labor Day, please all use the tools that we have to prevent and slow the spread.”
Newsom echoed those sentiments during his statewide briefing, reminding Californians about the importance of following public health guidelines through the three-day weekend ahead, including wearing masks, physically distancing, washing your hands, and minimizing mixing outside of your household.
“It’s more important than ever to be vigilant as we work through the next few months, work through this flu season — what we call this ‘twindemic,’ as COVID-19 meets flu season,” Newsom said. “The question is, what impact will you make in terms of mitigating the spread? That impact is demonstrable by your example and by the potency of power of these simple four tasks.”
In the Santa Clarita Valley, 14 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the last 24 hours, with 11 coming from the city of Santa Clarita, along with one each in Canyon Country, Castaic and Val Verde.
Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital released its latest figures Wednesday, which showed a total of 6,951 patients had been tested since the start of the pandemic — many of whom are tested more than once — with 799 of those testing returning positive, while 7,990 were negative and 19 remained pending, according to spokesman Patrick Moody. As of Wednesday, a total of 238 COVID-19 patients have been discharged, while 10 remain in the hospital for treatment, Moody added.
The number of SCV cases, including all area health care providers’ daily figures and those at Pitchess Detention Center, totaled 5,439 Wednesday, broken down into region as follows:
City of Santa Clarita: 3,024
Unincorporated – Acton: 61
Unincorporated – Agua Dulce: 25
Unincorporated – Bouquet Canyon: 6
Unincorporated – Canyon Country: 118
Unincorporated – Castaic: 1,906 (majority of Castaic cases come from Pitchess Detention Center, exact number unavailable)
Unincorporated – Lake Hughes: 2
Unincorporated – Newhall: 6
Unincorporated – Placerita Canyon: 0
Unincorporated – San Francisquito Canyon/Bouquet Canyon: 0
Unincorporated – Sand Canyon: 6
Unincorporated – Saugus: 26
Unincorporated – Saugus/Canyon Country: 1
Unincorporated – Stevenson Ranch: 154
Unincorporated – Val Verde: 63
Unincorporated – Valencia: 41
To view all coronavirus-related stories, visit signalscv.com/category/news/coronavirus.
