Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital reported nine additional deaths related to COVID-19 over the weekend, as Los Angeles County Public Health officials reported that the virus is killing an L.A. County resident on average every eight minutes.
The hospital reported one death Saturday that had occurred Friday, with eight additional deaths reported Monday that had occurred Saturday and Sunday, according to Henry Mayo spokesman Patrick Moody.
This is the highest death toll the hospital has reported since the onset of the pandemic, almost a year ago.
“We cannot lighten up our efforts yet, not now, and not for the next several weeks,” Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said. “Every minute — every minute — 10 people in L.A. County on average are testing positive for COVID-19.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that the state expects 1,000 more contract staff to hit the ground in California in the next seven days, with an equivalent amount set to join them in the coming weeks.
This is in addition to the close to 1,900 state and federal staff already deployed across the state to assist in the surge in hospitalizations.
In L.A. County, the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 has hovered around the 8,000 mark for the past week, with 7,910 hospitalized as of Monday, per Public Health.
“The damaging impact to our families and our local hospitals from this surge is the worst disaster our county has experienced for decades,” Ferrer said. “And as with other terrifying situations, the end of this surge only happens when more people and more businesses take control and do the right thing.”
Newsom also said it’s “all hands on deck” in COVID-19 vaccination efforts, announcing that state Public Health officials have expanded the pool of people able to administer vaccinations in an effort to vaccinate Californians at a quicker pace, as well as loosened the tiers in phase 1B, which allows those in each tier to be vaccinated earlier, so no dose goes unused.
As of Sunday, L.A. County had administered more than 2,600 vaccine doses to frontline health care workers and staff and residents of long-term care facilities, with county officials hoping to receive more vaccination doses in a faster timeline from the federal government.
Public Health expects to begin vaccinating those in phase 1B, which includes those 65 and older, teachers and other frontline workers, beginning early February, with phase 1C vaccinations, including those 50 and older, anyone over 16 with an underlying health condition or disability and more frontline workers, beginning in March.
Over the weekend, county Public Health officials reported more than 600 new COVID-19 cases in the Santa Clarita Valley, with 306 reported Saturday and 353 Sunday.
Los Angeles County Public Health officials released the following updated COVID-19 statistics Monday:
ICU available capacity for Southern California: 0.0%
New COVID-19 cases reported in L.A. County in the past 24 hours: 12,617
Total COVID-19 cases in L.A. County: 932,698
New deaths related to COVID-19 reported: 137
Total COVID-19 deaths in L.A. County: 12,387
Hospitalizations countywide: 7,910; 22% of whom are in the ICU.
Hospitalizations at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital as of Jan. 11: 98, with 809 discharged since the onset of the pandemic.
COVID-19 cases reported in the Santa Clarita Valley in the past 24 hours: 264, 209 of which came from the city of Santa Clarita.
Total COVID-19 cases in the SCV as of Jan. 10: 20,071
Total COVID-19 deaths in the SCV as of Jan. 11: 138, including nine additional deaths reported by Henry Mayo over the weekend.
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: 14,228
Unincorporated – Acton: 329
Unincorporated – Agua Dulce: 169
Unincorporated – Bouquet Canyon: 31
Unincorporated – Canyon Country: 590
Unincorporated – Castaic: 3,163 (majority of Castaic cases come from Pitchess Detention Center, exact number unavailable)
Unincorporated – Lake Hughes: 33
Unincorporated – Newhall: 57
Unincorporated – Placerita Canyon: 0
Unincorporated – San Francisquito Canyon/Bouquet Canyon: 11
Unincorporated – Sand Canyon: 10
Unincorporated – Saugus: 101
Unincorporated – Saugus/Canyon Country: 28
Unincorporated – Stevenson Ranch: 761
Unincorporated – Val Verde: 225
Unincorporated – Valencia: 126
To view all coronavirus-related stories, visit signalscv.com/category/news/coronavirus.
