County sees more than 4,500 new cases in one day

It’s largest 1-day count since beginning of COVID-19 pandemic

After hitting a record-breaking tally of new COVID-19 cases Tuesday, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health officials announced Thursday the county once again surpassed its previous high with 4,592 new diagnoses reported over the past 24 hours.

Over the past 48 hours, more than 7,300 new cases were reported, officials added.

The county has a total of 147,468 positive cases since the start of the pandemic; the Santa Clarita Valley has 3,832, after an additional 55 were reported Thursday.

“Each case represents a person that is capable of, and in all probability is, infecting at least one other person,” Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a prepared statement. “If you do the math, it is easy to see why the alarm. In a matter of weeks, the 4,600 positive cases today could lead to over 18,000 infected people. And this is just from one day of new cases.”

A total of 59 new deaths were reported countywide, which increased the total to 3,988. The death toll in the SCV reached 41 Thursday after a tally of 39 on Tuesday. Of those who have died, 93% had underlying health conditions, according to Public Health.

To date, 2,173 people remain hospitalized, of whom 27% are in the ICU and 17% are on

ventilators. Admissions of younger people between the ages of 18-40 are increasing at a higher rate than seen before and now comprise 20% of COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized.

With a positivity rate and hospitalizations increasing, Ferrer has sounded the alarm, urging residents to take measures, including properly wearing face coverings, keeping 6 feet apart from those outside one’s household and frequent hand washing.

“This week, we’ve hit concerning milestones. We have reported the most cases in a single day, the most hospitalizations and tragically high death numbers,” she said. “Without aggressive action on the part of every person, we will not get back to slowing the spread.”

Cases in the SCV

In the SCV, 55 additional COVID-19 cases were reported in the last 24 hours, with 44 in the city of Santa Clarita, three in Castaic, two in Val Verde, and one each in Stevenson Ranch and Valencia.

The number of SCV cases, including all area health care providers’ daily figures and those at Pitchess Detention Center, totaled 3,832 on Thursday, broken down into region, are as follows:

▪ City of Santa Clarita: 1,720

▪ Unincorporated — Acton: 37

▪ Unincorporated — Agua Dulce: 15

▪ Unincorporated — Bouquet Canyon: 1

▪ Unincorporated — Canyon Country: 60

▪ Unincorporated — Castaic: 1,830 (majority of Castaic cases come from Pitchess Detention Center; exact number unavailable)

▪ Unincorporated — Lake Hughes: 1

▪ Unincorporated — Newhall: 4

▪ Unincorporated — Placerita Canyon: 0

▪ Unincorporated — San Francisquito Canyon/Bouquet Canyon: 0

▪ Unincorporated — Sand Canyon: 2

▪ Unincorporated — Saugus: 11

▪ Unincorporated — Saugus/ Canyon Country: 1

▪ Unincorporated — Stevenson Ranch: 88

▪ Unincorporated — Val Verde: 35

▪ Unincorporated — Valencia: 27