PUBLIC HEALTH WARNS OF SYNDROME HARMING CHILDREN
Health officials said Friday that there have been nine additional cases of children with multisystem inflammatory syndrome, a condition that affects children under 21 years old who have been exposed to or had COVID-19.
There have now been 25 total children with the disease in the county.
“Different body parts can become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs and there can be lifelong health impacts,” officials said in a statement released on Friday.
Of these cases, 28% were between the ages of 0 and 5 years old, 44% were between the ages of 6 and 12 years old, and 28% were between the ages of 13 and 20 years old. Public Health added that no children have died due to the inflammatory syndrome, however.
The number of COVID-19 cases in the Santa Clarita Valley has increased by 53 in the past day, bringing the total number to 5,133.
Likewise, Los Angeles County continues to see its overall total of cases increase, with 1,759 new cases and 46 new deaths being reported in the past 24 hours.
The L.A. County Public Health Department has now confirmed a total of 229,054 cases and 5,491 deaths related to COVID-19.
Of the 46 new adult deaths reported Friday, 18 people who died (excluding Long Beach and Pasadena, which have their own public health departments) were over the age of 80, 15 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, nine people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, two people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49, and one person who died was between the ages of 18 and 29. Thirtyfive people had underlying health conditions.
There are 1,347 confirmed cases currently hospitalized and 32% of these people are confirmed cases in the ICU.
The mortality rate countywide is now 2.39%.
Hospitalizations at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital have also dropped. Two weeks ago, the hospital reported 25 admissions, which dropped to a total of nine last week, and Wednesday, the hospital reported just seven patients. A total of 226 COVID-19 patients have recovered and been discharged from the hospital.
Henry Mayo also released its latest figures Wednesday, reporting a total of 6,236 patients had been tested since the start of the pandemic — many of whom are tested more than once — with 748 of those testing returning positive, while 7,075 were negative and 22 remain pending, according to hospital spokesman Patrick Moody.
The number of SCV cases, including all area health care providers’ daily figures and those at Pitchess Detention Center, totaled 5,133 Friday, broken down into region as follows:
▪ City of Santa Clarita: 2,777
▪ Unincorporated — Acton: 58
▪ Unincorporated — Agua Dulce: 24
▪ Unincorporated — Bouquet Canyon: 6
▪ Unincorporated — Canyon Country: 111
▪ Unincorporated — Castaic: 1,883 (majority of Castaic cases come from Pitchess Detention Center; exact number unavailable)
▪ Unincorporated — Lake Hughes: 2
▪ Unincorporated — Newhall: 6
▪ Unincorporated — Placerita Canyon: 0
▪ Unincorporated — San Francisquito Canyon/ Bouquet Canyon: 0
▪ Unincorporated — Sand Canyon: 5
▪ Unincorporated — Saugus: 22
▪ Unincorporated — Saugus/Canyon Country: 1
▪ Unincorporated — Stevenson Ranch: 143
▪ Unincorporated — Val Verde: 56
▪ Unincorporated — Valencia: 39