The Santa Clarita Valley saw 130 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours and 84% of them came from the city of Santa Clarita — one of the 15 hardest-hit communities in Los Angeles County, according to figures Public Health officials released Tuesday.
Santa Clarita saw 109 new cases and seven cases from Castaic, which could stem from the Pitchess Detention Center, although the Los Angeles County Public Health Department hasn’t released the exact attribution.
The city’s case figures make up 5% of the county’s overall tally of new diagnoses reported Tuesday: 2,318. (The city’s population is approximately 225,000 per city officials, and the county’s population is approximately 10.03 million, according to censusreporter.org — meaning the city accounts for about 2.24% of the county’s total population.)
The report comes a day after Public Health released a list of 15 cities that have seen high case rates. The list included the three North L.A. County cities — Santa Clarita, Lancaster and Palmdale — that sought to start a coalition and urge the county for an expedited reopening. Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Santa Clarita, also jumped in on behalf of the northern cities, and urged Gov. Gavin Newsom in May to grant a variance for faster reopenings, citing geographical size and population differences than the rest of the county.
Santa Clarita residents have done their part in adhering to health orders, Mayor Cameron Smyth has consistently highlighted. As cases have surged citywide over the past two weeks, he said Monday the focal point is on local hospitalization capacity.
No specifics as to why these 15 communities have seen higher case rates have been identified, Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said Monday. Public Health officials did not return requests for comment on a possible reason Tuesday.
Public gatherings, however, have been at the center of the county’s warnings to the public in urging residents to help prevent the spread of the virus.
Ferrer said Tuesday before the county Board of Supervisors the county could move out of the state’s most restrictive tier and into the next level as early as next month, if every resident does their part.
“I would say the earliest we would see this county move to Tier 2 would be four weeks from now,” she said, “and that’s if every single person is helping us get back to slowing the spread.”
Public Health also released the following updated COVID-19 figures Tuesday:
Countywide COVID-19 cases reported in the past 24 hours: 2,318
Total COVID-19 cases in L.A. County: 325,876
New deaths related to COVID-19 reported in the past 24 hours: 25
Total COVID-19 deaths in L.A. County: 7,200
Hospitalizations countywide: 888; 28% of whom are in the ICU.
Hospitalizations at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital as of Nov. 9: 21, with 321 discharged since the onset of the pandemic.
COVID-19 cases reported in the Santa Clarita Valley in the past 24 hours: 130, 109 of which came from the city of Santa Clarita.
Total COVID-19 cases in the SCV: 7,897
Total COVID-19 deaths in the SCV: 77
The numbers of SCV cases, including all area health care providers’ daily figures and those at Pitchess Detention Center, broken down into region, are as follows:
City of Santa Clarita: 4,852
Unincorporated – Acton: 92
Unincorporated – Agua Dulce: 46
Unincorporated – Bouquet Canyon: 10
Unincorporated – Canyon Country: 181
Unincorporated – Castaic: 2,231 (majority of Castaic cases come from Pitchess Detention Center, exact number unavailable)
Unincorporated – Lake Hughes: 6
Unincorporated – Newhall: 30
Unincorporated – Placerita Canyon: 0
Unincorporated – San Francisquito Canyon/Bouquet Canyon: 2
Unincorporated – Sand Canyon: 7
Unincorporated – Saugus: 40
Unincorporated – Saugus/Canyon Country: 12
Unincorporated – Stevenson Ranch: 225
Unincorporated – Val Verde: 110
Unincorporated – Valencia: 53
To view all coronavirus-related stories, visit signalscv.com/category/news/coronavirus.
