Region’s COVID-19 ICU availability continues to decline as Public Health reports record-breaking 12,819 diagnoses

Los Angeles County Department of Public Health officials again announced a new record of singleday COVID-19 cases confirmed Thursday, with nearly 13,000 new diagnoses, as the intensive care unit bed availability for the Southern California region, which includes L.A. County, continued its decline, falling to 7.7%.

“Like a speeding car approaching a cliff, if we do not rapidly change course, we are in jeopardy of catastrophic consequences, with our hospitals being overwhelmed and severely ill patients not able to get the care they need,” said Paul Simon, Public Health’s chief science officer. “Right now, at this very dangerous time, people need to stay home at all times, if possible. We need to return to how he behaved in the spring at the beginning of the pandemic, when we saw few people out and few cars on the roads.”

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital also reported an additional death Thursday, marking the fourth day in

a row the hospital has reported COVID-19-related deaths, for a total of seven this week. The county reported 74 deaths countywide on Thursday.

MIS-C death

This comes as Public Health also reported its first COVID-19 death in a patient under the age of 18, who had been hospitalized for multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. MIS-C can damage multiple organ systems, require hospitalization and be lifethreatening. The child also was reported to have had severe underlying health conditions.

The Southern California region’s figures are well below the 15% ICU capacity threshold that put the region under the state’s stay-at-home order for at least three weeks, which limits occupancy at shopping centers, prohibits gatherings, closes certain nonessential businesses, such as cardrooms and personal care services, and requires restaurants to open only for takeout and delivery.

Though the region is expected to be eligible to exit the order on Dec. 28, unless the ICU capacity improves, it is likely the region will remain under the order, as it can be lifted only when “fourweek projections of the region’s total available adult ICU bed capacity is greater than or equal to 15%,” per the order.

County, SCV data

Public Health also released the following updated COVID-19 statistics for the county Thursday:

Southern California region ICU available capacity: 7.7% Countywide COVID-19 cases reported in the past 24 hours: 12,819 Total COVID-19 cases in L. A. County: 487,917

New deaths related to COVID-19 reported in the past 24 hours: 74 Total COVID-19 deaths in L. A. County: 8,149

Hospitalizations countywide: 3,433, 23% of whom are in the ICU

Hospitalizations at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital as of Dec. 10: 70, with 464 discharged since the onset of the pandemic

COVID-19 cases reported in the Santa Clarita Valley in the past 24 hours: 187

Total COVID-19 cases in the SCV: 11,485 Total COVID-19 deaths in the SCV: 88, including one additional deaths reported Thursday 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: 7,648 Unincorporated — Acton: 157 Unincorporated — Agua Dulce: 72 Unincorporated — Bouquet Canyon: 16 Unincorporated — Canyon Country: 322 Unincorporated — Castaic: 2,537 (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: 384 Unincorporated — Val Verde: 133 Unincorporated — Valencia: 73