22 More Deaths In Orange County, #MaskUpOC Campaign Hits Social

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — Orange County health officials reported 22 more people have died as a result of coronavirus, as of Thursday.

The county's death toll has reached 543.

On Thursday, an additional 905 people were positively diagnosed with coronavirus, bringing Orange County's total cases to 32,648 since the pandemic began, according to the county's Health Care Agency.

The number of patients being treated for COVID-19 in Orange County hospitals dipped slightly from 699 on Wednesday to 690 on Thursday. Of those, 233 remain in intensive care.

Of the deaths reported Thursday, six were skilled nursing facility residents. Of the total death toll, 245 were skilled nursing facility residents and 17 were assisted living facility residents.

Of the 3.2 million residents in the county, a total of 380,657 coronavirus tests have been given, and 17,091 recoveries are estimated, the HCA reported.

Orange County is on the state's watch list for counties experiencing high rates of new cases and hospitalizations. It has shown some improvement, but with some continuing concerns.

The county's case rate per 100,000 residents jumped from 211.4 to 220,8, which is far higher than the California Department of Public Health threshold of 25 per 100,000 residents.

The rate of residents testing positive for COVID-19 ticked down from 12.9% to 12.6%, which is higher than the state's desired rate of 8%.

The change in three-day average of hospitalized patients remained steady at 1.3%, but remains lower than the state's threshold of 10%.

The available ICU beds held at 32%, and the percentage of ventilators available remained at 63%. The state's threshold is 20% of ICU beds available to handle a surge and 25% ventilators on hand.

In the county's jails, 454 inmates had tested positive for COVID-19, with 411 having recovered and 43 in medical isolation being treated for symptoms.

The county is awaiting the results of 92 tests.

Aliso Viejo - 250 Total Cases

Anaheim - 5621 Total Cases

Brea - 302 Total Cases

Buena Park - 896 Total Cases

Costa Mesa - 1047 Total Cases

Coto de Caza - 22 Total Cases

Cypress - 310 Total Cases

Dana Point - 170 Total Cases

Fountain Valley - 333 Total Cases

Fullerton - 1533 Total Cases

Garden Grove - 1726 Total Cases

Huntington Beach - 1549 Total Cases

Irvine - 1062 Total Cases

La Habra - 754 Total Cases

La Palma - 106 Total Cases

Ladera Ranch - 107 Total Cases

Laguna Beach - 118 Total Cases

Laguna Hills - 199 Total Cases

Laguna Niguel - 256 Total Cases

Laguna Woods - 36 Total Cases

Lake Forest - 515 Total Cases

Los Alamitos - 144 Total Cases

Midway City - 58 Total Cases

Mission Viejo - 524 Total Cases

Newport Beach - 752 Total Cases

Orange - 1513 Total Cases

Placentia - 603 Total Cases

Rancho Mission Viejo - 46 Total Cases

Rancho Santa Margarita - 228 Total Cases

Rossmoor - 28 Total Cases

San Clemente - 295 Total Cases

San Juan Capistrano - 231 Total Cases

Santa Ana - 6129 Total Cases

Seal Beach - 173 Total Cases

Silverado - 38 Total Cases

Stanton - 384 Total Cases

Trabuco Canyon - 138 Total Cases

Tustin - 752 Total Cases

Villa Park - 37 Total Cases

Westminster - 602 Total Cases

Yorba Linda - 454 Total Cases

Are you ready to #MaskUpOC?

Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do, vice chairman of the board of supervisors, has started a campaign to encourage residents to use face coverings. Do's #MaskUpOC campaign will use social media to promote face coverings as a way to stem the spread of coronavirus.

Do was an early adopter of face coverings at a time when public health officials discouraged the use of them because they feared a run on medical masks needed for health professionals. Do promoted the face coverings in April when he authored the county's first mask ordinance, requiring them in pharmacies and food-related businesses.

Since then, vocal opponents of mask use have criticized county officials at board meetings with some even staging a protest outside the home of the former county health officer, Dr. Nichole Quick, who abruptly resigned in response to threats over the issue.

Do said he finds wide compliance in north and central Orange County with the state's requirement for masks indoors at businesses and outdoors when residents cannot safely distance themselves at least six feet from others.

"I think people in south county tend to see the face mask issue as a political one," Do said. "I think when we see reactions to issues that have been on the forefront in the county — whether it is the homeless or mental health or COVID-19— north and central county residents tend to be more empathetic."

Do said health experts have said that face coverings "will be the reality for us for the next two to six months. It's not going to end anytime soon, so this is why it's important to engage in this kind of conversation."