SCVNews.com | Friday COVID Roundup: Cases Increase at Skilled Nursing Facilities | 06-10-2022

2022-06-15 14:02:04 By : Mr. Bei Chen

[Sign Up Now] to Receive Our FREE Daily SCVTV-SCVNews Digest by E-Mail

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed eight new deaths throughout L.A. County, 6,202 new cases countywide and 193 new cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

This new data brings Los Angeles County death totals to 32,201, county case totals to 3,025,694 and Santa Clarita Valley case totals to 78,538, with 477 total SCV deaths from COVID-19 since March of 2020.

There are 616 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 12,072,695 individuals, with 22% of people testing positive.

Of the eight new deaths reported today, one person was between the ages of 18-29, one person was between the ages of 50-64, two people were between the ages of 65-79, and four people were aged 80 years or older. Of the eight newly reported deaths, six had underlying health conditions.

Today’s positivity rate is 5.0%.

Data is by date reported by DPH, but does not necessarily represent the date of testing, hospitalization, or death.

COVID Cases Increase at Skilled Nursing Facilities

With high rates of transmission across Los Angeles County, positive cases and outbreaks are increasing at Skilled Nursing Facilities. For the week ending May 29, Skilled Nursing Facilities reported 114 new cases among residents and 205 new cases among staff. This represents a 443% and 439% increase in new cases, respectively, when compared to one month ago when there were 21 new cases among residents and 38 new cases among staff for the week ending April 23.

Additionally, the number of outbreaks per week in Skilled Nursing Facilities increased sharply in the past week to 40 new outbreaks during the seven days ending June 7, returning the Early Alert Signal to high.

Public Health is working closely with Skilled Nursing Facilities to respond and mitigate the outbreaks. As a reminder, an outbreak is declared at a nursing facility when there is one resident case. Skilled nursing facilities continue to maintain enhanced protective measures, including indoor masking and testing requirements for residents, staff, and visitors; appropriately isolating and quarantining residents; and limiting communal dining and group activities that can’t be held outdoors.

High levels of vaccination and booster coverage within Skilled Nursing Facilities help provide life-saving protection. As of May 29, 91% of nursing home residents were fully vaccinated and 79% fully vaccinated and boosted with the first booster dose. Among eligible staff, vaccination rates are also very high with 98% fully vaccinated and 89% fully vaccinated and boosted.

However, while the data is incomplete, it appears that far fewer Skilled Nursing Facilities residents and staff had received a second booster; data to date indicates that second booster doses have been administered to just 22% of eligible residents and 7% of staff.

In order to ensure that eligible nursing home residents and staff are quickly offered the second booster doses, Public Health is continuing to verify that Skilled Nursing Facilities in LA County are able to offer second doses through their relationship with a Long-Term Care Pharmacy or through the Public Health mobile teams. Skilled Nursing Facilities that need a mobile vaccine team can inquire by filling out the COVID-19 Vaccination Special Requests for Healthcare Facilities request form. Skilled Nursing Facilities with active outbreaks will be scheduled for a mobile team clinic.

“I send my deepest sympathies and wishes of peace and comfort to the many families who have lost a loved one from COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “This sharp increase in cases and outbreaks at SNFs reflects the increase in transmission in the wider community. When we strongly recommend universal COVID precautions, one of the reasons is because we all have a collective opportunity to protect the most vulnerable in our community, including residents in nursing homes. While hard working staff can and do take extra measures to prevent transmission at these facilities, if transmission rates are high in the surrounding community, it increases the likelihood that residents and staff will be exposed to infected individuals. When we mask and take other protective measures during times of rising COVID cases, we are driving down spread and thereby taking steps to protect all of our residents, including the most vulnerable at our nursing homes.”

A wide range of data and dashboards on COVID-19 from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health are available on the Public Health website at http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

To keep workplaces and schools open, residents and workers are asked to:

– Get tested to help reduce the spread, especially if you traveled for the holidays, have had a possible exposure, or have symptoms, or are gathering with people not in your household

– Adhere to masking requirements when indoors or at crowded outdoor spaces, regardless of vaccination status

– Residents are legally required to be isolated if they have a positive COVID test result and vaccinated close contacts with symptoms and unvaccinated close contacts need to be quarantined.

For information on where you can get tested, please visit www.covid19.lacounty.gov/testing/.

For updated isolation and quarantine guidance, please visit www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective and are recommended for everyone 5 years old and older to help protect against COVID-19. Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status. Appointments are not needed at all Public Health vaccination sites and many community sites where first, second, and third doses are available.

To find a vaccination site near you, or to make an appointment, please visit:

www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) or

William S. Hart Union High School District COVID-19 Dashboard

The William S. Hart Union High School District provides ongoing information to our community regarding COVID-19 cases while maintaining confidentiality for our students and staff. The COVID-19 case data below is updated regularly to indicate any currently confirmed COVID-19 positive case in staff members or students by school site. The data below is specific to individuals who have been physically present on a District campus within 14 days of receiving a positive COVID-19 test. The District, in conjunction with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, conducts contact tracing and directly notifies and provides resources for parents of students identified as close contacts (6 feet or less for 15 cumulative minutes or more).

Note: To see the communication process in the event of a positive COVID-19 case, visit https://www.hartdistrict.org/apps/pages/covid-19dashboard.

Santa Clarita Valley Friday Update As of 4 p.m. Friday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard reported no additional deaths leaving the number of total deaths from COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic to 477 in the Santa Clarita Valley.

The following is the community breakdown per L.A. County’s dashboard:

Unincorporated Canyon Country: 9 (revised from 10)

Of the 78,731 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 750

*Note: The county is unable to break out separate numbers for Castaic and PDC/NCCF because the county uses geotagging software that cannot be changed at this time, according to officials. Click here for the LASD COVID-19 dashboard.

The California Department of Public Health now updates their numbers on Tuesday and Friday. The information below is from the most recent data released Friday, June 10.

– 83.7% of the eligible population (5+) has been vaccinated with at least one dose.

– 46,090 people a day are receiving COVID-19 vaccination (average daily dose count over 7 days).

– California has 9,106,031 confirmed cases to date.

– Friday’s average case count is 13,903 (average daily case count over 7 days).

– Unvaccinated people are 5.0 times more likely to get COVID-19 than boosted individuals (May 16, 2022 – May 22, 2022).

– The testing positivity rate is 8.6% (average rate over 7 days).

– There are 294 ICU patients statewide.

– Unvaccinated people are 7.4 times more likely to be hospitalized than boosted individuals (May 16, 2022 – May 22, 2022).

– There have been 91,006 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

– COVID-19 claims the lives of 14 Californians each day (average daily death count over 7 days).

– Unvaccinated people are 8.2 times more likely to die than boosted individuals (May 9, 2022 – May 15, 2022).

As of June 9, local health departments have reported 163,894 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 581 deaths statewide.

The testing turnaround time dashboard reports how long California patients are waiting for COVID-19 test results. During the week of May 29 to June 4, the average time patients waited for test results was 0.8 day. During this same time period, 90% of patients received test results in one day and 98% received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

As of June 6, there have been 998 cases of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) reported statewide. MIS-C is a rare inflammatory condition associated with COVID-19 that can damage multiple organ systems. MIS-C can require hospitalization and be life threatening.

Mask Guidance: Under California’s mask guidance, universal masking is required only in specified higher risk settings like hospitals, public transit and congregate living facilities. Unvaccinated persons are required to mask in all indoor public settings. Fully vaccinated individuals are recommended to continue indoor masking when the risk may be high. Workplaces will continue to follow the COVID-19 prevention standards set by CalOSHA. Local health jurisdictions may implement requirements that are stricter than state guidance.

Slow the Spread: Get Vaccinated and Boosted for COVID-19

The risk for COVID-19 exposure and infection continues as a number of Californians remain unvaccinated and unboosted.

Real-world evidence continues to show that the vaccine is preventing severe illness, hospitalization, and death. Public health officials urge Californians to get vaccinated and boosted as soon as possible.

It is recommended that every vaccinated person 12 years or older should get a booster as long as they received their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine at least five months ago or they received their Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least two months ago.

Vaccination appointments can be made by visiting myturn.ca.gov or calling 1-833-422-4255. The consent of a parent or legal guardian may be needed for those under age 18 to receive a vaccination. Visit Vaccinate All 58 to learn more about the safe and effective vaccines available for all Californians 5+.

Protect yourself, family, friends and your community by following these prevention measures:

Keep California Healthy Protect yourself, family, friends and your community by following these prevention measures:

– Get vaccinated when it’s your turn. Californians age 16+ are eligible to make an appointment.

– If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 (fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle or body aches), call your health care provider.

– If you believe you have been exposed, get tested. Free, confidential testing is available statewide.

– Keep gatherings small and outdoors and follow state and local public health guidance.

– Wear a mask and get the most out of masking – an effective mask has both good fit and good filtration.

– Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

– Delay non-essential travel outside of California until you are fully vaccinated. Follow California’s travel advisory.

– Avoid close contact with people who are sick and stay home from work and school if you feel ill.

– Add your phone to the fight by signing up for COVID-19 exposure notifications from CA Notify.

– Answer the call or text if a contact tracer from the CA COVID Team or your local health department tries to connect.

State Dashboard – Daily COVID-19 data

County Map – Local data, including tier status and ICU capacity

Data and Tools – Models and dashboards for researchers, scientists, and the public

Blueprint for a Safer Economy– Data for establishing tier status

COVID-19 Race & Ethnicity Data – Weekly updated Race & Ethnicity data

Cases and Deaths by Age Group – Weekly updated Deaths by Age Group data

Health Equity Dashboard – See how COVID-19 highlights existing inequities in health

Tracking Variants – Data on the variants California is currently monitoring

Safe Schools for All Hub – Information about safe in-person instruction

School Districts Reopening Map – data on public schools and reported outbreaks

Always check with trusted sources for the latest accurate information about novel coronavirus:

– Los Angeles County Department of Public Health

– California Department of Public Health

– Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

L.A. County residents can also call 2-1-1.

What to Do if You Think You’re Sick Call ahead: If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 (fever, cough or shortness of breath), call your health care provider before seeking medical care so that appropriate precautions can be taken. More than 85 community testing sites also offer free, confidential testing: Find a COVID-19 Testing Site.

For more information about what Californians can do to prevent the spread of COVID-19, visit Coronavirus (COVID-19) in California.

California continues to issue guidance on preparing and protecting California from COVID-19. Consolidated guidance is available on the California Department of Public Health’s Guidance webpage.

You can be the first one to leave a comment.

Click here to cancel reply.

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video