The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) continues investigation into outbreaks of COVID-19 at correctional facilities across the county, including those in the Santa Clarita Valley.
Public Health is investigating 19 ongoing outbreaks in correctional and law enforcement settings; a slight decrease from the 23 ongoing outbreaks in these settings reported a month ago, on Sept. 3.
For the week ending Sept. 24, 434 new cases associated with correctional facility outbreaks were reported; for the week ending Oct. 1, 84 new cases associated with correctional facility outbreaks were reported. To date, there have been 11,635 cases among people who are incarcerated and staff at correctional facilities.
A total of 7,732 cases have been reported in county jail facilities (5,962 among people who are incarcerated and 1,770 among staff), 1,845 cases in state prison facilities (1,514 among people who are incarcerated and 331 among staff), 1,316 cases in the federal prison facilities (1,187 among people who are incarcerated and 129 among staff), and 742 cases in the juvenile facilities (272 among youth and 470 among staff).
Of these county cases, several have taken place in the Santa Clarita Valley. At the Pitchess Detention Facility in Castaic there have been 613 cases among inmates and 209 among staff, and at the North County Correctional Facility there have been 1,599 cases among inmates and 190 among staff as of Sunday, Oct. 3.
To date, 48 correctional facility deaths have been reported, 42 among people who were incarcerated and six among staff.
Two deaths have been ascribed to the Pitchess Detention Center and two to the North County Correctional Facility at the Wayside Jail in Castaic.
Due to the fact that both locations are a part of the same jail complex, Public Health officials were unable to discern if this meant that there had been a total of four deaths at the complex or only two.
“While we are seeing lower case and hospitalization rates, transmission is still at a substantial level countywide, and we have a way to go before we are at a low level of transmission. Everyone is safer when transmission is a lot less – especially those living and working in high risk settings; including the prisons and jails,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of Public Health. “With growing evidence that COVID is airborne indoors, allowing for more efficient virus transmission, vaccinations and masking are powerful tools for protecting those who are incarcerated and those caring for them.”
As of Monday, Oct. 3, 34,726 cumulative cases have been reported in the Santa Clarita Valley since March of 2020, according to Public Health. These cases include:
- 26,498 in the City of Santa Clarita*
- 63 in the unincorporated areas of Bouquet Canyon
- 1,132 in the unincorporated areas of Canyon Country
- 4,397 in Castaic*
- 69 in the unincorporated areas of Newhall
- 4 in Placerita Canyon
- 19 in San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon
- 22 in unincorporated Sand Canyon
- 161 in the unincorporated areas of Saugus
- 48 in the unincorporated areas of Saugus/Canyon Country
- 1,659 in Stevenson Ranch
- 420 in the unincorporated areas of Val Verde
- 269 in the unincorporated areas of Valencia
*As of Sunday, Oct. 3, public health officials have recorded 2,212 cumulative cases at the Peter J. Pitchess Detention Center, including 1,599 at the North County Correctional Facility. Those cases are distributed between both the City of Santa Clarita and Castaic totals.
Public Health encourages everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated. Anyone 12 and older living or working in L.A. County can get vaccinated against COVID-19. Many vaccination sites across the county, including all the County-run sites, are also offering third doses of vaccine to eligible immunocompromised people. Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status.
Los Angeles County residents eligible for a booster dose of Pfizer include the following groups of people who received the second of the two-dose Pfizer vaccine series at least 6 months ago and are either:
- People aged 65 years or older
- Residents of long-term care facilities
- People aged 18 to 64 years with underlying medical conditions
- People aged 18 to 64 years with high institutional or occupational risk, including healthcare workers, first responders, teachers and day care staff, grocery workers, and workers and residents in homeless shelters or prisons, among others
To learn how to make a vaccine appointment, what verifications you will need to show at your vaccination appointment, and much more, visit the L.A. County Vaccination website (English) or Vacunate Los Angeles website (Spanish).
Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status.
See All Coronavirus Coverage: Coronavirus Coverage – COVID-19 Map
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