Just under 30 percent of all confirmed coronavirus cases attributed to the Santa Clarita Valley by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health originated from both the Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility (NCCF) in Castaic.

Out of the 945 accumulated cases of COVID-19 that the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LADPH) have reported within the Santa Clarita Valley since testing began back in March, a total of 282 of those cases have come from either the Pitchess Detention Center or the NCCF.

This number comprises almost 30 percent of all coronavirus cases reported in the Santa Clarita Valley, and includes the following:

• NCCF: 12 staff, 225 residents
• Pitchess: 14 staff, 31 residents

The way that COVID-19 cases from the two facilities have been attributed within the Santa Clarita Valley has stirred up plenty of controversy over the past several weeks.

Val Verde, an unincorporated community just northwest of Santa Clarita, experienced a major spike in reported cases in late April, jumping from just seven known cases on April 26, to 34 cases on April 27, according to the LADPH.

On Thursday, May 8, LADPH officials had attributed 118 cases of  COVID-19 to Val Verde, a devastating rate of infection considering the relatively low population of the area, currently estimated to be less than 3,000 people, based on previous census data.

After an outcry from the Val Verde community, the LADPH “corrected” the issue, and began counting the Pitchess cases along with those in Castaic on Friday, May 9.

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Then, starting on May 13, the numbers from the two facilities also began to appear within the updates case count for the City of Santa Clarita, as indicated by a release from the LADPH that afternoon. 

On Monday, May 18, only four new cases of COVID-19 had been reported within the Santa Clarita Valley, all of which were attributed to the City of Santa Clarita. That same day, four additional residents within NCCF and Pitchess Detention Center were reported as being positive for coronavirus.

This has led many residents within Santa Clarita to call into question the way that Los Angeles County attributes cases that originate from the two facilities.

“It would be much easier to see how many are here in town vs. those fools at the Pitchess Detention Center that think they are so smart to get released,” one Castaic resident wrote to KHTS.

See Related: Sheriff Villanueva Claims Pitchess Inmates Intentionally Spreading COVID-19 (VIDEO)

This resident was referring to footage released by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department that shows multiple men at the Pitchess Detention Center sharing from a single bottle of hot water.

Sheriff’s officials contend the men had two goals in their action: to spread the potential of infection, and to artificially increase their oral temperature before having their temperature taken by a nurse.

“Somehow there was some mistaken belief among the inmate population that if they tested positive that there was a way to force our hand and somehow release more inmates out of our jail environment, and that’s not going to happen,” L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said. “We’ve done everything within our power to reduce or prevent the spread of COVID-19 within our jail system.”

As of Monday afternoon, a total of 945 cumulative cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the Santa Clarita Valley since testing began in March. These include:

• 583 in the City of Santa Clarita*
• 33 in the unincorporated areas of Canyon Country
• 276 in Castaic*
• Four in the unincorporated areas of Saugus
• 28 in Stevenson Ranch
• Seven in the unincorporated areas of Valencia
• 14 in the unincorporated areas of Val Verde

No cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the unincorporated areas of Newhall as of Monday afternoon.

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

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