As key Public Health indicators are increasing to record levels during the coronavirus pandemic, the Department of Public Health is cautioning residents to comply with health protocols to mitigate the spread of the virus.
An additional 11,476 coronavirus cases have been reported in Los Angeles County on Saturday, according to Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
The additional cases reported Saturday bring the county’s cumulative total to 512,872 according to the department.
The public health director said Friday that Los Angeles County is in “uncharted territory” with the highest surge in COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic.
There are 3,850 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Saturday, 22 percent of which are in the ICU, according to Ferrer.
The number of patients hospitalized has tripled over the past month, according to Ferrer.
“In just 30 days our deaths have increased 416% across the County. During that same time frame, the positivity rate has increased 141%; today, the daily test positivity rate is 14.2%. And hospitalizations increased 303% in one month,” reads Saturday’s press release.
The number of hospitalizations exceeds the peak of 2,232 people hospitalized with COVID-19 during the July surge. The daily number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 has increased nearly every day since Nov. 1 when the daily number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 was 799.
“This is an extraordinarily challenging time. Hospitals are stressed and filling up with hundreds of new COVId-19 positive patients each day, our healthcare workers are exhausted, and deaths are reaching an all-time high,” said Ferrer. “Actions taken by each of us continue to make or break our collective ability to prevent many people from becoming infected, seriously ill and potentially passing away from COVID-19.”
As of Friday, the five-day average for daily new cases reported with COVID-19 is 10,284, over double the five-day average for daily new cases the county saw just over two weeks ago.
70 additional deaths have been reported Saturday, with the total deaths across the county reaching 8,269, according to the department.
“While vaccines are around the corner, they will not be here in time to prevent compromising care for seriously ill individuals at our hospitals. Only we can do that by following the public health directives: Stay home except for performing essential work and/or acquiring essential services,” said Ferrer. “Always wear a face covering when out of your house and know that every single time you are with people not in your household you are running a serious risk of being exposed to the virus.”
The State Stay Home Order went into effect at midnight on Dec. 6, and remains in effect for at least three weeks in California regions where ICU capacity falls below 15%.
According to the State, as of Dec. 11, the Southern California Region has 5.3% staffed adult ICU capacity remaining.
In Los Angeles County, the ICU capacity is at 11.8% as of Wednesday, according to public health.
See Related: L.A. County Health Officials Respond To Ruling Against Ban On Outdoor Dining
Over 4,091,000 coronavirus tests have been conducted as of Saturday, with about 12 percent of those tests returning positive.
As of Saturday, 156 new COVID-19 cases have been reported across the valley, with 11,632 cumulative cases having been reported in the valley since testing began in March, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LADPH). These cases include:
- 7965 in the City of Santa Clarita* (+127)
- 340 in the unincorporated areas of Canyon Country (+7)
- 2,552 in Castaic* (+11)
- 57 in the unincorporated areas of Saugus
- 408 in Stevenson Ranch (+7)
- 78 in the unincorporated areas of Valencia (+3)
- 136 in the unincorporated areas of Val Verde (1)
- 40 in the unincorporated areas of Newhall
- 16 in the unincorporated areas of Bouquet Canyon
- 18 in the unincorporated areas of Saugus/Canyon Country
- Seven in unincorporated Sand Canyon
- Four in San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon
In nearby Acton, there have been 173 cases, as well as 80 cases in Agua Dulce.
*As of Thursday, Dec. 10, public health officials have recorded 1,939 cumulative cases have been reported at the Peter J. Pitchess Detention Center, including 1,410 at the North County Correctional Facility. Those cases are distributed between both the City of Santa Clarita and Castaic totals.
As of Friday, Dec. 11, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital has conducted 13,679 COVID-19 tests. Of those, 1,679 have tested positive, and six tests are still pending with Henry Mayo, according to Patrick Moody, spokesperson for the hospital.
There are 71 patients in the hospital as of Thursday, Dec. 9 while 473 patients have been discharged since the hospital’s first case was reported in March, according to Moody.
Seven additional deaths have been reported at Henry Mayo this week with the number of COVID-19 patients doubling over the past month.
There have been a total of 46 coronavirus deaths at the hospital, with at least 86 COVID-19 deaths reported across the Santa Clarita Valley.
See All Coronavirus Coverage: Coronavirus Coverage – COVID-19 Map
Ed. Note: These numbers are subject to change based on further investigation by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
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