Friday COVID-19 Roundup: County Reports Over 3,000 New COVID-19 Cases for First Time Since February 13; Henry Mayo Reports Highest Hospitalizations since March
Uploaded: , Friday, Jul 23, 2021
By Press Release
On Friday, Los Angeles County Public Health officials confirmed seven new deaths and 3,058 new cases of COVID-19, marking the third day in a row with more than 2,500 cases reported in a day.
Over the last four days more than 10,000 cases were reported.
To date, the Santa Clarita Valley has had a total of 29,278 COVID-19 cases.
There are 655 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized; an increase of more than 200 people in one week. Last Friday, there were 452 people hospitalized with COVID-19 illness.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Thursday 13 new deaths and 2,767 new cases of COVID-19 countywide, with 29,192 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.
Los Angeles County continues to see a rapid rise in COVID-19 transmission countywide with cases doubling over the last 10 days.
Thursday’s test positivity rate is 5.2%; an increase from the rate of 1.2% on June 15 when physical distancing restrictions and capacity limits were lifted across all sectors.
The County’s daily average case rate, with a 7-day lag, is now 12.9 cases per 100,000 people, an increase from last week’s rate of 7.1 cases per 100,000.
There are 645 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 22% of these people are in the ICU. Last week, there were 406 people hospitalized with COVID-19 illness.
Palliative Care Teddy Bear Program To Continue At Henry Mayo
Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital has announced that Logix Federal Credit Union is continuing to sponsor the hospital’s Foundation Palliative Care Teddy Bear program.
Started as a teddy bear gifting program in 2018, Henry Mayo’s Palliative Care Teddy Bear Program has provided comfort to many parents and children in times of crisis, officials said.
When a patient is terminally ill, the teddy bear can record and save the patient’s heartbeat for their loved ones as a keepsake and comfort item.
“The response we get from the families that receive a bear has been very positive. When a loved one enters the final stages of life, we are able to record the heartbeat of the patient, place the recording in the bear and present the bear as a gift to the child or family member,” said Dr. Balbir Brar, Medical Director of Palliative Care at Henry Mayo.
This is a 20-fold increase in a month, with 124 new COVID-19 cases reported on June 21.
Wednesday’s test positivity rate is 5.2%; the rate was 0.7% a month ago.
The number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 illness continues to increase each day. There are 585 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 23% of these people are in the ICU. On June 21, there were 213 people hospitalized with COVID-19 illness.
Of the seven new deaths reported today, two people that passed away were between the ages of 65 and 79, three people who passed were between the ages of 50 and 64, and one person who passed was between the ages of 30 and 49. One death was reported by the City of Long Beach.
Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital announced that Logix Federal Credit Union will continue to sponsor the hospital’s Foundation Palliative Care Teddy Bear program.
Since 2018, the Palliative Care program at Henry Mayo has used teddy bears to provide comfort to many parents and their children. The bears also bring comfort to the staff involved in difficult cases. When a patient is terminally ill, his or her heartbeat can be recorded by the teddy bear, which is then given to a patient’s family member as a keepsake.
“The response we get from the families that receive a bear has been very positive,” said Balbir Brar, MD, Medical Director of Palliative Care at Henry Mayo. “When a loved one enters the final stages of life, we are able to record the heartbeat of the patient, place the recording in the bear and present the bear as a gift to the child or family member.”