Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday the state is expected to meet its threshold of administering 2 million COVID-19 vaccine doses in hardest-hit communities Friday, triggering a change in the state’s metrics and allowing counties, like Los Angeles, to enter the red tier this weekend.
Newsom broke the news during a visit to a vaccination site in L.A. County Wednesday morning, adding that “L.A. will be a big beneficiary of this new metric.”
This new vaccine equity metric, which was announced Tuesday and set to trigger once 2 million doses had been administered in communities with the lowest score in the Healthy Places Index, would change the threshold to move from the purple to red tier from seven new cases per 100,000 to 10 new cases per 100,000 residents.
This would accelerate L.A. County’s move to the red tier, since the county has had two consecutive weeks with case rates below 10 new cases per 100,000 residents, according to L.A. County Department of Public Health officials.
County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer discussed this possibility Tuesday with the county Board of Supervisors, noting that the county would be given the green light to reopen 48 hours after the threshold was met, which would mean Sunday at the earliest.
“Public Health continues to work with the Board of Supervisors and sector partners to prepare modifications to the health officer order to permit additional activities allowed in the red tier,” a statement released by Public Health officials Wednesday read.
It is unclear whether the county plans to align its public health order entirely with the state’s guidelines, as local governments and public health departments can implement stricter orders than what California imposes.
County Public Health officials also released the following updated COVID-19 statistics Wednesday:
New COVID-19 cases reported in L.A. County in the past 24 hours: 1,514
Total COVID-19 cases in L.A. County: 1,206,713
New deaths related to COVID-19 reported: 119
Total COVID-19 deaths in L.A. County: 22,213
Hospitalizations countywide: 1,079; 30% of whom are in the ICU.
Hospitalizations at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital as of March 10: 6, with 1,171 discharged since the onset of the pandemic.
COVID-19 cases reported in the Santa Clarita Valley in the past 24 hours: 46, 34 of which came from the city of Santa Clarita.
Total COVID-19 cases in the SCV: 26,591
Total COVID-19 deaths in the SCV: 276
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: 19,503
Unincorporated – Acton: 455
Unincorporated – Agua Dulce: 258
Unincorporated – Bouquet Canyon: 45
Unincorporated – Canyon Country: 803
Unincorporated – Castaic: 3,631 (majority of Castaic cases come from Pitchess Detention Center, exact number unavailable)
Unincorporated – Lake Hughes: 40
Unincorporated – Newhall: 66
Unincorporated – Placerita Canyon: 1
Unincorporated – San Francisquito Canyon/Bouquet Canyon: 15
Unincorporated – Sand Canyon: 17
Unincorporated – Saugus: 132
Unincorporated – Saugus/Canyon Country: 40
Unincorporated – Stevenson Ranch: 1,083
Unincorporated – Val Verde: 318
Unincorporated – Valencia: 184
