In following the Centers for Disease Control recommendations, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health offered new mask-wearing suggestions for residents, including to tell people wearing two masks can offer “extra protection.”
Public Health Department officials said Saturday that the CDC’s new recommendations include ensuring masks: have two or more layers of breathable, tightly woven material; 2) completely cover your nose and mouth; and 3) fit snugly against your face, including on the sides, with no gaps.
“If you need or want extra protection or a better fit, CDC recommends either ‘double masking’ by wearing two masks (a disposable mask underneath and a cloth mask on top) or wearing a cloth mask combined with a fitter or brace,” officials said in a news release Saturday. “It is not recommended to double mask with a KN95 or two disposable masks as this does not improve the fit.”
It is also recommended, according to the Public Health Department, that masks have a nose wire to keep air from leaking out of the top of the mask, which will also help reduce fogging if you wear glasses.
In addition to the latest guidelines, Public Health officials released the following updated COVID-19 statistics Saturday:
New COVID-19 cases reported in L.A. County in the past 24 hours: 3,254
Total COVID-19 cases in L.A. County: 1,164,769
New deaths related to COVID-19 reported: 197
Total COVID-19 deaths in L.A. County: 18,984
Hospitalizations countywide: 3,426; 30% of whom are in the ICU.
Hospitalizations at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital as of Feb. 12: 39, with 1,099 discharged since the onset of the pandemic.
COVID-19 cases reported in the Santa Clarita Valley in the past 24 hours: 74, 54 of which came from the city of Santa Clarita.
Total COVID-19 cases in the SCV: 25,131
Total COVID-19 deaths in the SCV (as of Feb. 12): 238
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: 18,392
Unincorporated – Acton: 420
Unincorporated – Agua Dulce: 246
Unincorporated – Bouquet Canyon: 42
Unincorporated – Canyon Country:750
Unincorporated – Castaic: 3,518 (majority of Castaic cases come from Pitchess Detention Center, exact number unavailable)
Unincorporated – Lake Hughes:40
Unincorporated – Newhall: 66
Unincorporated – Placerita Canyon: 0
Unincorporated – San Francisquito Canyon/Bouquet Canyon: 14
Unincorporated – Sand Canyon: 15
Unincorporated – Saugus: 125
Unincorporated – Saugus/Canyon Country: 35
Unincorporated – Stevenson Ranch: 999
Unincorporated – Val Verde: 299
Unincorporated – Valencia: 170
