The Los Angeles County Public Health Department reported Friday that the COVID-19 case rate among the county’s homeless population increased in parallel with the overall rate for the rest of the county.
The homeless population had 111 new cases between July 19 and 25, a 21% increase compared to the week before it. Since the start of the pandemic, 7,588 homeless people have tested positive for COVID-19 and 216 have died because of the virus.
Of the county’s homeless population, 20,188 are fully vaccinated, according to county Public Health data.
“There are severe health risks associated with COVID and reinfection is possible, particularly from variants of the virus,” said Barbara Ferrer, the Public Health department’s director, in a prepared statement.
She added the vaccine does not provide significant protection against the virus without both doses.
In the city of Santa Clarita, 71.8% of residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine, as of July 25. The percentage of people with at least one dose in the Santa Clarita Valley has consistently lagged behind the city. The SCV vaccination rate is 68.2%, or a gain of 2.6% since the beginning of July.
Friday marked the second consecutive day that the SCV showed more than 100 new COVID-19 cases.
Latest SCV, county data
Public Health officials also released the following updated COVID-19 statistics Friday:
Countywide COVID-19 cases reported in the past 24 hours: 3,606
Total COVID-19 cases in L.A. County: 1,297,032
New deaths related to COVID-19 reported in the past 24 hours: 5
Total COVID-19 deaths in L.A. County: 24,676
Hospitalizations countywide: 991, of which 20% are in the ICU.
COVID-19 cases reported in the Santa Clarita Valley in the past 24 hours: 112, 80 of which came from the city of Santa Clarita
Total COVID-19 cases in the SCV: 29,800
Total COVID-19 deaths in the SCV as of July 29: 309
Percentage of vaccinated people (at least one dose) in the city of Santa Clarita as of July 25: 71.8%
Percentage of vaccinated people (at least one dose) in the SCV as of July 25: 68.2%
