26 Die Of Coronavirus, Wednesday Orange County's Deadliest Day

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — A record 26 Orange County residents died of coronavirus Wednesday according to the Orange County Health Care Agency.

As of Wednesday afternoon, over 11,000 residents have tested positive for coronavirus, and 299 total county residents have died. Also on Wednesday, 354 more residents tested positive for the virus.

The number of those hospitalized in the county continues to rise, according to figures from the OC Health Care agency. On Tuesday the number of people hospitalized with the coronavirus 349, with the number of patients in intensive care sits unchanged at 137. Those numbers jumped Wednesday, with 363 hospitalized and 145 in intensive care.

As of Wednesday, an estimated 5,249 people have recovered from the virus, according to the Orange County Health Care agency.

An additional 1,478 tests were conducted Wednesday. Thus far during the pandemic, out of Orange County's total population of 3.2 million people, 227,962 have been tested for coronavirus as of Wednesday.

Nearly all of Orange County's towns saw an increase of positive coronavirus totals.

Those that remained unchanged since Tuesday include: Coto De Caza, Dana Point, Fountain Valley, Laguna Beach, Laguna Woods, Los Alamitos, Midway City, Rancho Mission Viejo, Rossmoor, Trabuco Canyon and Villa Park.

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To date, the ages of those who have died:

• Between 25 and 34: 3
• Between 35 and 44: 7
• Between 45 and 54: 28 (+4)
• Between 55 and 64: 38 (+1)
• Between 65 and 74: 53 (+5)
• Between 75 and 84: 80 (+10)
• Over 85: 90 (+6)

In Orange County, here are Thursday's coronavirus totals by city:

• Aliso Viejo: 55
• Anaheim: 2,119
• Brea: 77
• Buena Park: 351
• Costa Mesa: 236
• Coto de Caza : 8 (unchanged)
• Cypress: 100
• Dana Point: 41 (unchanged)
• Fountain Valley: 91 (unchanged)
• Fullerton: 428
• Garden Grove: 632
• Huntington Beach: 503
• Irvine: 293
• La Habra: 218
• La Palma: 35
• Ladera Ranch: 24
• Laguna Beach: 54 (unchanged)
• Laguna Hills: 57
• Laguna Niguel: 61
• Laguna Woods: 15 (unchanged)
• Lake Forest: 114
• Los Alamitos: 88 (unchanged)
• Midway City: 34
• Mission Viejo: 124
• Newport Beach: 212
• Orange: 483
• Placentia: 201
• Rancho Mission Viejo: 12 (unchanged)
• Rancho Santa Margarita: 44
• Rossmoor: 14 (unchanged)
• San Clemente: 85
• San Juan Capistrano: 77
• Santa Ana: 2,332
• Seal Beach: 102
• Stanton: 1444
• Trabuco Canyon: 22 (unchanged)
• Tustin: 204
• Villa Park: 13 (unchanged)
• Westminster: 231
• Yorba Linda: 132
• Other* 393
• Unknown** 557

According to OC Health Care, the "Other" category includes the aggregate case count of the unincorporated areas of the county that have less than 5 cases, plus cases incarcerated in Orange County jails.

The "Unknown" category cases are still under investigation by OC Health Care, and more information may be available when those investigations are complete, they say.

The total number of Orange County coronavirus cases break down to 50 percent men and 50 percent women, but men account for 56 percent of the deaths, according to the HCA.

Last weekend, the agency reported record numbers of COVID-19 cases and blamed the high numbers in part on a backlog in the reporting of test results. But many Southland health officials have also cited a recent increase in community transmission.

Santa Ana leads all county cities with 2,332 cases, followed by Anaheim with 2,119. The high numbers in Orange County's two largest cities are attributed to their population size and the presence of multiple nursing homes in both cities.

The mask debate is on in Orange County, with Dr. Clayton Chau, the Health Care Agency director and interim chief health officer saying they are effective at slowing the spread of COVID- 19, the state requiring mask uses, and the Orange County sheriff saying he will not enforce the mask directives.

"The mask is to protect others, to protect your neighbors," Chau said. "And from a public health point of view, we want to protect our neighbors.

Chau said the "hot spots" of Santa Ana and Anaheim "keep me up at night" with concern. He said about two weeks ago, a task force was formed among officials with the county and both cities to discuss ways to tackle the rising case counts there.

New statewide mandated mask rules have overruled county directives in an effort to curtail the spread of coronavirus in California while enabling businesses to reopen.

Face coverings are now required most situations while indoors, and also outside when a person cannot maintain six feet of social distance.

Exemptions to the face covering ruling include children age 2 and younger because of the risk of suffocation, and for people with a variety of medical or psychological issues that make mask-wearing a hazard.

Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said in a statement he would not make any efforts to enforce the mandate, echoing his previous sentiments.

"It is each person's responsibility to wear a face covering and follow other recommended safeguards, in order to stop the spread of COVID-19," Barnes said. "It is not law enforcement's responsibility to enforce it."

Barnes said he expects residents to "continue to use common sense approaches for the benefit of their own health, as well as the collective health of other county residents."

"We must do what is necessary to stop the transmission of COVID-19, enabling us to further open remaining businesses, places of recreation and the hospitality industry," Barnes said.

Union leaders called on Sheriff Don Barnes and the Board of Supervisors to back the state's mandate more vocally.

Gloria Alvarado, executive director of the Orange County Labor Federation, acknowledged the difficulty of enforcing a mask mandate, but she said the sheriff hindered compliance by declaring he would not enforce it.

Barnes issued a statement last week saying he expects residents to "continue to use common-sense approaches for the benefit of their own health, as well as the collective health of other county residents."

Alvarado said, "We would like the Board of Supervisors and the sheriff to stand with the majority of the community and enforce the mask usage."

Alvarado said the opponents of mask wearing are in the minority. She said Barnes is "in a position of leadership" where he can influence others to wear a mask.

Full coronavirus coverage: Coronavirus In California: What To Know

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