County Public Health reports nearly 14,000 new diagnoses as Santa Clarita Valley sees 248 cases, another death
The percentage of intensive care units available in Southern California dropped to 6.2% Friday, bringing it 1.5 percentage points lower than the previous day, according to the state Department of Public Health.
Also on Friday, the L.A. County Public Health Department reported yet another all-time-high oneday total of new confirmed COVID-19 cases.
Three regions are now part of a statewide stay-athome order as their ICU capacities have dropped below the state’s threshold of 15%. The three regions are Greater Sacramento, San Joaquin Valley and Southern California, which includes Los Angeles County.
The county has been under the stay-at-home order since Dec. 6 and the order is set to expire Dec. 28 if the region is at or above the 15% threshold, and if it is projected to remain above 15% for four weeks.
The ICU available capacity across the state stood at 9% as of Friday, according to state public health officials.
L.A. County Department of Public Health officials urged residents to stay at home as much as possible as the county broke another record with nearly 14,000 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours.
“We are walking to uncharted territories at this point and seeing numbers we did not anticipate,” Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said during a press briefing Friday.
“We’re requesting L.A. County residents to stay home as much as possible and stay away from people outside their households.”
Ferrer reported an additional 13,815 cases and 50 deaths Friday, putting the county well above 500,000 cases and at 8,199 deaths since March.
“At this rate, we could witness 80 people dying each day in two weeks,” Ferrer said. “Limit mingling with others and keep it to essential reasons only. We need to avoid overcrowding our hospital and ICU beds.”
Public Health also released the following updated COVID-19 statistics for the county Friday:
Southern California region ICU available capacity: 6.2%
Countywide COVID-19 cases reported in the past 24 hours: 13,815
Total COVID-19 cases in L. A. County: 501,635 New deaths related to COVID-19 reported in the past 24 hours: 50
Total COVID-19 deaths in L. A. County: 8,199
Hospitalizations countywide: 3,624, 23% of whom are in the ICU
Hospitalizations at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital as of Dec. 11: 71, with 473 discharged since the onset of the pandemic
COVID-19 cases reported in the Santa Clarita Valley in the past 24 hours: 248
Total COVID-19 cases in the SCV: 11,733
Total COVID-19 deaths in the SCV: 89, including one additional deaths reported Friday at Henry Mayo
The number of SCV cases, including all area health care providers’ daily figures and those at Pitchess Detention Center, broken down into region, are as follows: City of Santa Clarita: 7,838 Unincorporated — Acton: 162
Unincorporated — Agua Dulce: 78
Unincorporated — Bouquet Canyon: 16
Unincorporated — Canyon Country: 333
Unincorporated — Castaic: 2,552 (majority of Castaic cases come from Pitchess Detention Center; exact number unavailable)
Unincorporated — Lake Hughes: 17 Unincorporated — Newhall: 40
Unincorporated — Placerita Canyon: 0
Unincorporated — San Francisquito Canyon/ Bouquet Canyon: 4 Unincorporated — Sand Canyon: 7 Unincorporated — Saugus: 57 Unincorporated — Saugus/ Canyon Country: 18 Unincorporated — Stevenson Ranch: 401 Unincorporated — Val Verde: 135 Unincorporated — Valencia: 75