Seven additional COVID-19 deaths were reported at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital over the weekend, with the hospital surpassing 100 total deaths since they began treating coronavirus patients in March.

On Monday, Henry Mayo spokesperson Patrick Moody confirmed that seven additional patients at the hospital passed away over the weekend due to COVID-19.

This means that over 103 COVID-19 deaths have been reported at Henry Mayo alone, with at least 153 similar deaths being reported across the Santa Clarita Valley since March.

There were 90 COVID-19 patients in the hospital as of Monday, Jan. 18, while 893 patients have been discharged since the hospital’s first case was reported in March 2020, according to Moody. 

On Sunday, 182 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the Santa Clarita Valley, with 21,050 cumulative cases having been reported in the valley since March of 2020, according to the LADPH. These cases include:

• 15,663 in the City of Santa Clarita* (+151)
• 633 in the unincorporated areas of Canyon Country
• 3,274 in Castaic* (+12)
• 109 in the unincorporated areas of Saugus (+1)
• 842 in Stevenson Ranch (+13)
• 142 in the unincorporated areas of Valencia (+3)
• 239 in the unincorporated areas of Val Verde (+2)
• 59 in the unincorporated areas of Newhall
• 38 in the unincorporated areas of Bouquet Canyon
• 26 in the unincorporated areas of Saugus/Canyon Country
• 13 in unincorporated Sand Canyon
• 12 in San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon

An update on the number of COVID-19 cases in the Santa Clarita Valley is expected to be released later Monday afternoon.

See Related: Cremation Limits Suspended In L.A. County Due To COVID-19

On Sunday, officials with the South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD) issued an Emergency Order to temporarily suspend limits on the number of cremations that can take place each month in Los Angeles County to assist with the backlog caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s astronomically higher than we’ve ever seen,” said Richard Nunally, general manager for Eternal Valley Memorial Park in Newhall, in a previous KHTS story. 

The South Coast AQMD issues permits for crematoriums that contain limits on the number of human remains that may be cremated each month, based on potential air quality impacts. 

However, officials say that the current death rate is “more than double that of pre-pandemic years, leading to hospitals, funeral homes, and crematoriums exceeding capacity without the ability to process the backlog of cases.”

“It’s certainly COVID-related, but you’ve also got other factors at play,” Nunally said. “No matter what, the death rate has skyrocketed.”

As a result, officials with both the Los Angeles County Medical-Examiner Coroner and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health requested that the Emergency Order be issued in order to “protect public health and to respond to the current emergency.”

The order is in effect for 10 days from Sunday, and can be extended if warranted.

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