Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LADPH) officials provided guidance for re-opening schools to in-person learning for TK-12 students in elementary, middle and high schools on Wednesday.
Los Angeles County moved into the “red” tier Monday, allowing additional re-openings of businesses in several sectors, and students are also set to return to their classrooms with additional health guidelines put in place by public health officials.
Students are set to be allowed to return to classrooms as soon as possible in districts that have plans approved by the LADPH, as long as precautions are in place to prevent to spread of coronavirus among students and staff by creating “stable groups” to prevent mass close contact among the returning student body, LADPH officials said Wednesday.
In elementary schools:
- Creating and maintaining stable groups is required.
- Maximum size of stable groups is determined by the available classroom or instructional space and the ability to maintain appropriate physical distancing between all students and staff
- Teachers may work with up to 3 different stable groups within school day or week
In middle and high schools:
- Stable grouping of students recommended but not required
- Stable groups of not more than 100-120 students and a team of teachers who will interact with only that group
The re-opening of classrooms is possible due to the fact that daily case transmissions have steadily dropped since the holiday surge, with approximately 4.1 new COVID-19 cases reported per 100,000 people as of March 9, according to LADPH Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer.
Between March 1 and March 15, 2020, L.A. County reported 2 deaths and 752 cases of COVID-19. In the same period in 2021, L.A. County reported around 420 deaths and over 8,100 new cases.
“We weren’t even regularly reporting on hospitalizations. We were worried however and scared and we asked everyone to stay home whenever possible,” said Ferrer. “A year later, we’re feeling much more hopeful and optimistic, although we all know we have a ways to go.”
An additional 897 COVID-19 cases and 75 deaths were reported across Los Angeles County Wednesday.
This brings the county’s cumulative total to 1,211,733 positive cases of COVID-19 and 22,580 deaths since the onset of the pandemic, according to the Los Angeles Department of Public Health (LADPH).
Testing results are available for over 5,972,249 people, with a cumulative 19 percent of people testing positive.
The average daily case number in L.A. County as of March 9, 2021 has now decreased to 524 new cases per day. This is the lowest daily case number seen since April 2, 2020, according to Ferrer.
As of Wednesday, there were 857 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in L.A. County, 28 percent of which were in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
The Southern California Region has 27.6% staffed adult intensive care unit (ICU) capacity remaining as of the state’s last update on Friday, March 12, according to state health officials.
Residents are encouraged to continue to prevent the spread of COVID-19, to not gather in crowds, stay home when sick, wear a face covering and maintain physical distance from others when outside of the home.
A travel advisory remains in effect for L.A. County. Anyone who is arriving in Los Angeles County must self-quarantine for 10 days. Residents are asked to remain at home or lodging for 10 days and avoid contact with others.
On Tuesday, March 16, 2021, 11 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the Santa Clarita Valley, with 26,019 cumulative cases having been reported in the valley over the past year, according to the LADPH. These cases include:
- 19,643 in the City of Santa Clarita* (+7)
- 45 in the unincorporated areas of Bouquet Canyon
- 809 in the unincorporated areas of Canyon Country
- 3,648 in Castaic* (+2)
- 66 in the unincorporated areas of Newhall
- 1 in Placerita Canyon
- 15 in San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon
- 17 in unincorporated Sand Canyon
- 132 in the unincorporated areas of Saugus
- 39 in the unincorporated areas of Saugus/Canyon Country
- 1,094 in Stevenson Ranch (+2)
- 325 in the unincorporated areas of Val Verde
- 185 in the unincorporated areas of Valencia
*As of Sunday, March 14, public health officials have recorded 1,982 cumulative cases have been reported at the Peter J. Pitchess Detention Center, including 1,443 at the North County Correctional Facility. Those cases are distributed between both the City of Santa Clarita and Castaic totals. Those cases are distributed between both the City of Santa Clarita and Castaic totals.
In nearby Acton, there have been 456 cumulative cases, as well as 260 cases in Agua Dulce.
An update on local coronavirus case numbers is expected later Wednesday afternoon.
There were six COVID-19 patients in Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital as of Wednesday, March 10, while 1,171 patients have been discharged since the hospital’s first case was reported in March 2020, according to Patrick Moody, spokesperson for the hospital.
One additional death was reported at Henry Mayo on Monday, March 8, with a total of 145 coronavirus deaths at the hospital, with at least 264 COVID-19 deaths reported across the Santa Clarita Valley since March 2020.
See All Coronavirus Coverage: Coronavirus Coverage – COVID-19 Map
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