Coronavirus Updates In OC: Community Outreach In Hard-Hit Towns

ORANGE COUNTY, CA —On Wednesday, Orange County health officials reported eight more COVID-19 fatalities to push the death toll up to 521. There were 767 new coronavirus patients identified, Wednesday.

Hospitalizations dipped slightly, with the number of patients being treated for COVID-19 in Orange County hospitals changing from 700 on Tuesday to 699 on Wednesday. Of those hospitalized, 233 are being cared for in intensive care, a number that dropped by 10.

The newest cases raise the county's cumulative total to 31,743 since the pandemic began, according to the county's Health Care Agency.

Of the deaths reported on Wednesday, one person lived at an area skilled nursing facility. Still, seven more people died Wednesday.

Of the total death toll, 235 were skilled nursing facility residents and 17 were assisted living facility residents.

The county has administered 374,114 coronavirus tests out of the county's 3.2 million residents, and has seen 16,173 people recover, the HCA reported.

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

• Aliso Viejo: 237
• Anaheim: 5,462
• Brea: 289
• Buena Park: 870
• Costa Mesa: 1,019
• Coto de Caza: 20
• Cypress: 301
• Dana Point: 163
• Fountain Valley: 326
• Fullerton: 1,485
• Garden Grove: 1,678
• Huntington Beach: 1,515
• Irvine: 1,040
• La Habra: 739
• La Palma: 105
• Ladera Ranch: 104
• Laguna Beach: 116
• Laguna Hills: 195 (no change)
• Laguna Niguel: 251
• Laguna Woods: 36 (no change)
• Lake Forest: 488
• Los Alamitos: 145
• Midway City: 57 (no change)
• Mission Viejo: 510
• Newport Beach: 734
• Orange: 1,472
• Placentia: 584
• Rancho Mission Viejo: 45
• Rancho Santa Margarita: 215
• Rossmoor: 27
• San Clemente: 284
• San Juan Capistrano: 219
• Santa Ana: 5,958
• Seal Beach: 173
• Silverado: 38 (no change)
• Stanton: 372
• Trabuco Canyon: 135
• Tustin: 725
• Villa Park: 36
• Westminster: 587
• Yorba Linda: 439

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 183.3 to 211.4, 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 inched up from 12.4% to 12.9%, which is higher than the state's desired rate of 8%.

The change in three-day average of hospitalized patients increased from -2.6% to 1.3%, but remains lower than the state's threshold of 10%.

The number of available ICU beds dropped from 39.4% to 32%, and the percent of ventilators available dipped from 64% to 63%. The state's threshold is 20% of ICU beds available to handle a surge and 25% ventilators on hand.

As of Monday in the county's jails, 439 inmates had tested positive for COVID-19, with 396 having recovered and 43 in medical isolation being treated for symptoms. The county is awaiting the results of 141 tests.

Anaheim and Santa Ana make up roughly 21 percent of OC's total population. They also have 35 percent of the total infected within their city limits, according to OC Health Care reports.

Outreach ambassadors for Anaheim and Santa Ana are being sought as the coronavirus caseload in those towns remains on the rise.. Those cities harbor 35 percent of those infected by coronavirus, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency.

According to a report from Voice of OC, University of California Irvine's Resilience Project has added over 400 people to contact trace in those communities. Trainees for that project are often from the communities where they will work.

Full coronavirus coverage: Coronavirus In California: What To Know