Three COVID-19 outbreaks have been reported throughout the Santa Clarita Valley, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
Kaiser Permanente’s Santa Clarita Post-Acute Care Center located in Newhall, West Ranch High School and Pitchess Detention Center were reported to be locations of active COVID-19 outbreaks, as of Wednesday.
However, according to Debbie Dunn, communications coordinator for the William S. Hart Union High School District, West Ranch’s outbreak concluded on Monday. The L.A. County Department of Public Health website was last updated on Wednesday.
“When there are three or more positive cases linked through any kind of shared activity, it is classified as an outbreak,” wrote Dunn in an email to The Signal. “LADPH doesn’t require notification, but the school did notify parents through email, including best practices to avoid COVID and instructions if symptoms arise.”
Dunn added that staff, per Cal OSHA requirements, are always notified of close contacts. Nurses are required to report to the Health Department.
According to the L.A. County Department of Public Health, the city of Santa Clarita has accumulated 75,083 cases of COVID-19 and 468 deaths. According to DPH, 98 positive cases of COVID-19 have been identified since Sept. 21.
“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.”
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.
