Two COVID-19 outbreaks have been reported in the Santa Clarita Valley, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
Pitchess Detention Center and West Ranch High School were reported to have active outbreaks, as of Thursday.
According to the L.A. County Department of Public Health, the city of Santa Clarita has accumulated 74,985 cases of COVID-19 and 468 deaths.
“The number of seven-day average daily cases is presented by episode date, an approximation of the date the illness began, and reflects data for the seven-day period ending Saturday,” wrote the L.A. County Department of Public Health on its website about the how the numbers are collected. “The number of seven-day average daily deaths is presented by date of death and reflects data for the seven-day period ending Monday with a three-week lag. This is a change from how case and death data were presented prior to 7/27/23, which was by date of report.”
When there are more than three cases at a school, nurses are required to report to the Health Department, which then makes a determination as to whether the situation requires it to be listed as an “outbreak.”
This was the case for West Ranch High School.
William S. Hart Union School District officials were not reachable on Saturday for comment. In a previous Signal story, Hart district officials said they follow protocols set by both the district and the Health Department.
The outbreaks come amid a countywide rise in COVID-19 cases. It’s believed that the spike is attributable to summer travel, a return to schools and the emergence of new strains — including the new Omicron XBB EG.5 sub-variants, which account for about 30% of cases in California and over 90% of specimens in L.A. County.
Additional reporting done by Trevor Morgan.
