55 additional Santa Clarita Valley coronavirus cases have been confirmed Thursday, with an additional 4,592 cases being confirmed within Los Angeles County, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LADPH).

A total of 2,173 people are currently hospitalized due to COVID-19 throughout L.A. County, according to LADPH Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer. This remains substantially higher than the 1,350 to 1,450 daily hospitalizations seen four weeks ago, according to DPH officials.

“This week we’ve hit concerning milestones,” Ferrer said. “We have reported the most cases in a single day, the most hospitalizations and tragically high death numbers. Each case represents a person that is capable of, and in all probability is, infecting at least one other person.”

Testing results are available for over 1,440,000 individuals as of Thursday, with a positivity rate of nine percent, according to public health officials.

“If you do the math, it is easy to see why the alarm,” Ferrer said. “In a matter of weeks, the 4,600 positive cases today could lead to over 18,000 infected people in a few weeks. And this is just from one day of new cases. Without aggressive action on the part of every person, we will not get back to slowing the spread.”

59 additional deaths have been reported within the County Thursday, for a total of 3,998 people who have died due to coronavirus in Los Angeles County.

As of Thursday, a total of 3,778 cumulative cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the Santa Clarita Valley since testing began in March. These include:

• 1,720 in the City of Santa Clarita*
• 60 in the unincorporated areas of Canyon Country
• 1,830 in Castaic*
• 11 in the unincorporated areas of Saugus
• 88 in Stevenson Ranch
• 27 in the unincorporated areas of Valencia
• 35  in the unincorporated areas of Val Verde
• Four in the unincorporated areas of Newhall
• One in the unincorporated areas of Bouquet Canyon
• Two in unincorporated Sand Canyon

*As of  Wednesday, July 15, officials had recorded 1,318 cumulative cases among prisoners at the North County Correctional Facility, and 493 at the Peter J. Pitchess Detention Center. Those cases are counted in both the City of Santa Clarita and Castaic totals. 

Additionally, 37 cases have been confirmed in nearby Acton as well as 15 in Agua Dulce.

An analysis of available data indicates that as of Wednesday, July 15, approximately 48.6 percent of all cumulative cases in and around the Santa Clarita Valley can be attributed to the inmate population at the North County Correctional Facility and the Pitchess Detention Center.

Public health officials are not releasing recovery numbers by city, according to the department.

As of Wednesday, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital has conducted 4,482 COVID-19 tests. Of those, 496 have tested positive, and 458 tests are still pending with Henry Mayo, according to Patrick Moody, spokesperson. 

There are 23 patients in the hospital as of Wednesday, while 140 patients have been discharged since the hospital’s first case was reported in March, according to the hospital. This is an increase since the last reported number of inpatients on Monday, July 13, when there were 15 patients in the hospital.

A majority of all deaths in the county had underlying health conditions, according to public health, further encouraging those with medical issues to stay home, if possible.

See All Coronavirus Coverage: Coronavirus Coverage – COVID-19 Map

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